Guimaras’ inflation rate spikes by 4.1% in June ‘19

HEADLINE inflation rate in Guimaras province increased by 4.1% in June 2019, higher by 2.9 percentage points from 1.2 percent a month ago due to increments in eight commodity groups.

“The commodity groups which pushed the inflation to rise were Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco with 15% inflation rate; Clothing and Footwear (4.7%); Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Fuels (3.4%),” said Nelida B. Losare, Provincial Statistics Officer of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)-Guimaras.

“Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance of the House (3.2%); Health (2.1%); Recreation and Culture (4.8%); Education (1.5%); Restaurant and Miscellaneous Goods and Services (3.0%) also contributed to the inflation rate of June,” Losare added.

The double digit inflation in alcoholic beverages and tobacco commodity group was driven by increases in alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 19.2% and 13.6%, respectively.

The 6.4 inflation rate for food and non-alcoholic beverages group was mainly attributed to the 6.5% inflation rate on food and 4.3% on non-alcoholic beverages.

Among the food commodity groups, faster indices were noted on the following food items: Vegetables (34.5%); Fish (8.8%); Corn (6.5%); Rice (5.8%); Oils and Fats (3.5%); and other food products N.E.C. (4.4%). Meanwhile, meat and fruits recorded decelerated indices at 0.1 and 2.2%, respectively.

Meanwhile, Losare explained that despite the huge commodity price increment in June which resulted in a 4.1% uptick in inflation, the figure is still lower than the 5.% rate in the same month last year.