THE inflation in the country slowed down to 8.6 percent in February 2023, from 8.7 percent in January 2023. In February 2022, inflation was lower at 3.0 percent. The average inflation rate for the first two months of the year stood at 8.6 percent.
Among the 13 commodity groups, transport was the sole driver of the downtrend of the overall inflation during the month, recording a 9.0 percent inflation rate in February 2023 from 11.1 percent inflation in January 2023.
In contrast, nine commodity groups showed higher inflation rates which includes the following:
a. Food and non-alcoholic beverages, 10.8 percent;
b. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 11.0 percent;
c. Clothing and footwear, 4.8 percent;
d. Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 6.2 percent;
e. Health, 4.0 percent;
f. Information and communication, 0.8 percent;
g. Recreation, sport and culture, 4.4 percent;
h. Restaurants and accommodation services, 8.1 percent; and
i. Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 5.3 percent.
The indices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels; and education services moved at their previous month’s annual rates at 8.6 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, the financial services index continued to record zero percent annual rate.
Food inflation at the national level, likewise, slowed down to 11.1 percent in February 2023, from 11.2 percent in January 2023. In February 2022, food inflation rate was at 1.1 percent.
The downtrend in the food inflation was mainly brought about by the lower year-on-year growth in the index of vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses at 33.1 percent in February 2023, from 37.8 percent in January 2023. In addition, the rice index increased at a lower rate of 2.2 percent during the month, from 2.7 percent in January 2023. Moreover, slower year-on-year growth rates were observed in the indices of the following food groups during the month:
a. Corn, 12.6 percent;
b. Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, 6.5 percent;
c. Oils and fats, 17.3 percent; and
d. Sugar, confectionery and desserts, 37.0 percent.
On the contrary, higher annual increases were observed in the indices of the following food groups during the period:
a. Flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals, 11.7 percent;
b. Fish and other seafood, 9.9 percent;
c. Milk, other dairy products and eggs, 13.1 percent;
d. Fruits and nuts, 11.5 percent; and
e. Ready-made food and other food products not elsewhere classified, 9.8 percent. (Tables 7 and 13)
Core inflation, which excludes selected food and energy items in the headline inflation, rose to 7.8 percent in February 2023, from 7.4 percent in January 2023. In February 2022, core inflation was lower at 1.9 percent.
While the inflation rate at the national level for February 2023 slowed down, in contrast, inflation in NCR increased further to 8.7 percent from 8.6 percent in January 2023. In February 2022, inflation rate in the area stood at 1.9 percent. The main driver in the increase of inflation rate in the area was housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels commodity group whose index registered a year-on-year increment of 7.7 percent during the month from 6.9 percent in January 2023. Also contributed to the uptrend were furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance with 6.9 percent inflation rate and restaurants and accommodation with 10.9 percent inflation rate.
Higher annual mark-ups were also noted in the indices of the following commodity groups during the month:
a. Clothing and footwear, 3.2 percent;
b. Health, 2.2 percent;
c. Recreation, sport and culture, 3.8 percent; and
d. Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 3.5 percent.
In contrast, lower annual increments during the month were observed in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages at 11.6 percent; alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 6.4 percent; and transport at 10.8 percent. The indices for the rest of the commodity groups continued to move at their respective previous month’s rates.
3. Areas Outside NCR (AONCR)
The inflation rate in AONCR decreased to 8.5 percent in February 2023, from 8.7 percent in January 2023, following the trend at the national level. In February 2022, inflation in the area was recorded at 3.4 percent. The lower inflation in the area was mainly brought about by the deceleration of the inflation rate in transport at 8.5 percent during the month, from 10.7 percent in January 2023. In addition, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels recorded an inflation rate of 8.9 percent in February 2023, from 9.1 percent in the previous month.
On the other hand, the following commodity groups had higher inflation rates during the month:
a. Food and non-alcoholic beverages, 10.5 percent;
b. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 11.8 percent;
c. Clothing and footwear, 5.1 percent;
d. Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 5.9 percent;
e. Health, 4.2 percent;
f. Information and communication, 0.9 percent;
g. Recreation, sport and culture, 4.6 percent;
h. Restaurants and accommodation services, 7.1 percent; and
i. Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 5.8 percent.
The annual growth in the indices of education services and financial services remained at their respective previous month’s annual rates of 2.1 percent and 0.0 percent. (Tables 5 and 6)
Compared with their respective annual growth rates in January 2023, eight regions in AONCR recorded lower inflation rates in February 2023. Among the regions in AONCR, Region VIII (Eastern Visayas) still registered the lowest inflation rate at 6.3 percent, while Region VI (Western Visayas) remained the region with the highest inflation rate of 10.8 percent during the month.
