Guimaras’ inflation trend slows down in 2019

Guimaras’ monthly inflation rates in 2019 moved slower compared to 2018 due to gradual price movements of both food and non-food commodities.

The 2018 levels consistently moved faster than in 2019, starting at 3.3 percent in January then moving upwards until May. It then erratically shifted, registering its fastest rate at 7.2 percent in August then settled at 4.7 percent in December.

Interestingly, the 2019 inflation moved in the opposite direction, with the slowest rate of 1.2 percent in May before rising to 4.1 percent in June, the fastest in that year 2019, but still slower by 3.1 percentage points than the fastest rate in 2018 at 7.2 percent.

Comparing the average inflation rates of Western Visayas provinces in 2019, Negros Occidental registered the fastest rate at 3.7 percent, followed by Capiz (3.6%), Guimaras(2.6%) and Aklan (1.6%). The slowest rates were posted by Antique and Iloilo at 1.3 percent each.

In 2018, the 5.2 rate of Guimaras and Iloilo was the second slowest inflation rate next to Capiz with 5.1, while the fastest inflation was noted in Negros Occidental (7.0%), Antique (5.7%), and Aklan (5.5%).

“Despite the unstable monthly price movements, the annual average inflation of Guimaras in 2019 was still lower by 50 percent from its previous year’s total average of 5.2 percent,” Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)-Guimaras Provincial Statistics Officer Nelida B. Losare said.