Starting March 2018, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released the rebased CPI series as announced in the press release number 2018-031 dated 22 February 2018. The CPI series for July 2018 onwards shall be 2012-based.

Year on Year Inflation rate in Central Visayas was recorded at 0.2 percent

• Central Visayas’ inflation decelerated further to 0.2 percent in September 2019. Inflation in August 2019 was recorded at 1.0 percent, and in September 2018, 7.0 percent (Table A).

• The slowdown of inflation in September 2019 was mainly driven by slower annual rate posted in the index of the heavily-weighted Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages at -0.3 percent and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels at -1.4 percent.

• Lower annual rates were registered also in the indices of the following commodity groups:

  • Transport, 2.6%

  • Restaurant and Miscellaneous Goods and Services, 0.3%;

• On the other hand, higher annual rates were registered in the indices of the following commodity groups:

  • Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, 2.4%;

  • Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance of the House, 4.2%;

  • Health, 2.0%;

• Meanwhile, the following commodity groups maintained its previous month’s rate (Table B).

  • Clothing and Footwear, 0.4%;

  • Communication, 0.1%

  • Recreation and Culture, 0.2%

  • Education, 3.2%

September 2019 CPI in Central Visayas was recorded at 124.0

• The CPI in Central Visayas remained constant in September 2019 at 124.0 compared to the previous month. In September 2018, it was at 123.8 and increased to 123.9 for the month of October 2018. A decline of the CPI was noted in the months of November and December 2018 and a slight increase in January 2019 then decreased until March 2019. Starting April 2019, CPI for Central Visayas steadily increased until August 2019 and remained constant for the month of September 2019.

• Higher annual rate was noted in the indices of each commodity group from August and September 2019 compared to August and September 2018 except for Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels which posted a lower annual rate this year compared to September last year (Table D).

Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP) was recorded at 0.81 in September 2019

• In September 2018, PPP of Central Visayas was recorded at 0.81 and remained constant until November 2018. In December 2018, the PPP inclined to 0.82 then declined to 0.81 in January 2019 and remained constant for the month of February. PPP for March 2019 increased to 0.82 and declined to 0.81 and remained constant until September 2019.

TECHNICAL NOTES

The Philippine Statistics Authority generates and announces the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) based on a nationwide survey of prices for a given basket of goods and services. Two important indicators, the inflation rate and purchasing power of the peso (PPP), are derived from the CPI which are important in monitoring price stability and the value of the country’s currency. 

The CPI is an indicator of the change in the average retail prices of a fixed basket of goods and services commonly purchased by households relative to a base year.

Retail Price is the price at which a commodity is sold for spot in small quantities for consumption.

Base Period/Base Year is the period, usually a year, at which the index number is set to 100. It is the reference point of the index number series.

Market Basket is a term used to refer to a sample of goods and services that are commonly purchased and bought by an average Filipino household.

Weight is a value attached to a commodity or ground of commodities to indicate the relative importance of that commodity or group of commodities in the market basket.

Inflation Rate is equivalent to a decline in the purchasing power of the peso. It is the change in the CPI over a specific period of time (usually a month or a year). That is, where:

CPI₁ - is the CPI in the previous period

CPI₂ - is the CPI in the current period

The Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP) is a measure of the real value of the peso in a given period relative to a chosen reference period. It is computed by getting the reciprocal of the CPI and multiplying the result by 100. That is,

Headline Inflation is the rate of change in the weighted average prices of all goods and services in the CPI basket.

(SGD.) ARIEL E. FLORENDO
Regional Director