Negros Occidental bottom 30% inflation slows to 3%

BACOLOD CITY — Inflation for Negros Occidental households in the bottom 30% income group slowed to 3.0 percent in June 2026 from 3.4 percent in May, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The rate was 0.5 percent in June 2025.

The province’s average inflation from January to June stood at 1.2 percent.

Across the Negros Island Region, inflation for the same income group eased to 4.8 percent in June from 5.0 percent in May. It was 0.1 percent in June 2025, while the January-to-June average was 2.4 percent.

At the national level, bottom-30% inflation slowed to 8.0 percent in June from 8.4 percent in May. The rate was -0.4 percent in June 2025, while the first-half average reached 5.5 percent, the PSA reported.

Slower annual price growth in food and non-alcoholic beverages and transport drove the Negros Occidental deceleration. Food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation eased to 1.4 percent from 1.7 percent, while transport inflation slowed to 7.2 percent from 8.3 percent.

The PSA listed food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing and utilities, and transport as the top commodity groups behind the province’s June inflation. Food and non-alcoholic beverages registered 1.4 percent inflation from 1.7 percent, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels fell to -0.6 percent from 0.6 percent, and transport eased to 7.2 percent from 8.3 percent.

Bacolod City moved in the opposite direction, with inflation for bottom-30% households accelerating to 7.8 percent in June from 7.2 percent in May. The city had recorded -0.4 percent inflation in June 2025.

Bacolod’s average inflation from January to June was 3.6 percent.

The city’s acceleration was driven by faster inflation in food and non-alcoholic beverages, which rose to 7.6 percent from 7.3 percent, and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, which climbed to 8.7 percent from 5.6 percent.

The PSA identified housing and utilities, food and non-alcoholic beverages, and restaurants and accommodation services as Bacolod’s top three commodity-group contributors. Their inflation rates were 8.7 percent from 5.6 percent, 7.6 percent from 7.3 percent, and 9.6 percent from 8.5 percent, respectively.

The CPI measures changes in the average retail prices of a fixed basket of goods and services commonly purchased by households. The series uses 2018 as its base year, meaning the index is set at 100 for that reference period.

Inflation is the year-on-year percentage change in the CPI. A positive rate means average prices are higher than a year earlier, while a negative rate indicates average prices are lower.

A lower but still positive inflation rate means prices continued to increase from a year earlier, only at a slower pace than in the preceding month. It does not mean prices declined.

The PSA compiles a separate CPI for bottom-30% income households using a market basket and expenditure weights tailored to goods and services commonly purchased by families in that group. Price collection and index computation follow the same process used for all-income households.

The purchasing power of the peso measures its real value in a given period relative to the base period.