Negros Occ, Bacolod Inflation Rates Drop in November 2024

Negros Occidental’s inflation rate slowed to 3.0 percent in November 2024, marking a significant decrease from 3.5 percent in October 2024 and 4.7 percent a year ago.

The provincial slowdown was primarily driven by negative annual growth rates in several commodity groups, including food and non-alcoholic beverages, alcoholic beverages and tobacco, clothing and footwear, housing utilities, health services, recreation activities, and personal care products.

Bacolod City similarly experienced a decline in inflation to 2.7 percent in November 2024, down from 3.2 percent in October and 4.2 percent in November 2023.

The city’s lower inflation rate was attributed to decreased prices in alcoholic beverages, clothing, housing utilities, household equipment, health services, information and communication, recreation, and restaurant services.

However, Bacolod City saw higher inflation rates in food and non-alcoholic beverages, transport, education services, and personal care products compared to the previous month.

The year-to-date inflation rate for Negros Occidental stands at 3.5 percent, while Bacolod City registered 4.1 percent.

Both areas showed significantly lower inflation rates compared to their peaks in 2023, when Negros Occidental reached 12.4 percent in February and Bacolod City hit 12.1 percent in January.

The latest figures also position both areas close to the national inflation rate of 2.5 percent for November 2024, though slightly higher than the countrywide average.

Inflation measures how fast prices of goods and services rise over time, with the Philippine Statistics Authority using 2018 as the base year for current calculations.

The PSA compiles the Consumer Price Index monthly by surveying prices of a fixed basket of goods and services commonly purchased by households across different income groups.

The basket includes essential items like food, housing, utilities, transportation, and other common household expenses, with each item weighted according to its importance in the typical Filipino household budget.

A higher inflation rate means consumers need to spend more pesos to buy the same amount of goods and services compared to the previous period, effectively reducing their purchasing power.