The headline inflation rate at the provincial level further decreased to 0.9 percent in March 2024, or a change of -0.6  percentage points from the inflation rate in the previous month. In the same reference month of the previous year, it was posted at 9.4  percent. The downtrend of inflation in March 2024 was mainly driven by the combined deceleration in the indices for selected commodity groups such as housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 1.2 percent, food and non-alcoholic beverages at -1.4 percent, and restaurants and accommodation services at 4.5 percent.

Moreover, lower annual gains were also noted in the inflation rates of the following commodity groups, when compared with the annual figures from the previous month:
         •    Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 8.6%;
         •    Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 5.1%;
         •    Health, 1.3%; and,
         •    Information and communication, 0.9%.

On the other hand, higher annual increments were observed in the inflation rates of the following commodity groups:
        •    Clothing and footwear, 2.4%;
        •    Recreation, sport and culture, 8.1%; and,
        •    Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 4.8%.

Meanwhile, the indices of the following commodity groups maintained compared with the annual figures from the previous month:
       •    Transport, -0.1%;
       •    Education services, 3.2%; and,
       •    Financial services, -1.4%.

The province’s food index further decelerated to -1.8 percent in March 2024, from -1.3  percent in the previous month. This was equivalent to a change of 0.5 percentage points. In March 2023, the food inflation rate was higher at 17.1 percent.  Moreover, the downtrend in food inflation was mainly due to the deceleration in the indices of fish and other seafood at -14.4 percent, meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals at  -6.5 percent, and milk, other dairy products and eggs at 1.0 percent.

Furthermore, the annual indices of the following food items also showed slower growth compared to the figures from the previous month, as follows:
       •    Oils and fats, -5.6%;
       •    Sugar, confectionery and desserts, 1.4%;
       •    Ready-made food and other food products N.E.C., 4.5%;
       •    Flour, Bread and Other Bakery Products, Pasta Products,  and Other Cereals, 5.8%; and
       •    Corn, 7.7%.

On the other hand, the annual indices of the following food items exhibited faster growth when compared with the annual figure from the previous month, as follows:
      •    Fruits and nuts, -6.2%;
      •    Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses, -9.9%; and
      •    Rice, 19.7%.

PURCHASING POWER OF PESO

The Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP) in Marinduque maintained at 0.77 in  March 2024. The PPP was registered at 0.78 in March 2023. As a result, the amount of goods that can be presently purchased by consumers were fewer compared to when the PPP was higher. 

TECHNICAL NOTES

•    Consumer Price Index is an indicator of the change in the average prices of a fixed basket of goods and services commonly purchased by households relative to a base year. 

•    Market Basket is a sample of goods and services, which is meant to represent the totality of all the goods and services purchased by households relative to a base year.
          o    To determine the commodities that will form the market basket for the 2018-based CPI, the Survey of Key Informants (SKI) was conducted in March 2021. The survey, which was conducted nationwide to store managers, sellers or proprietors, obtained information on the most commonly purchased of goods and availed of services by the households.
         o    The commodities in the 2018-based CPI market basket are grouped/classified according to the 2020 Philippine Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (PCOICOP) which is based on the United Nations COICOP. Meanwhile, the commodities in the 2012-based CPI market basket used the 2009 PCOICOP version of classification of commodities.

•    Base year is a reference period, usually a year, at which the index number is set to 100. It is the reference point of the index number series. The CPI is rebased from base year 2012 to base year 2018.

•    Inflation Rate is the annual rate of change or the year-on-year change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

•    Purchasing Power of Peso 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

 Inflation Rate (reference month, reference year) 
= [(CPI (reference month, reference year) - CPI (reference month, previous year)) / CPI (reference month, previous year)] x 100%

For example,
INFLATION RATE (March 2024) = [(CPI (March 2024) - CPI(March 2023)) / CPI(March 2024)] x 100%
            = [(130.0 – 128.9) / 128.9] x 100%
            = (1.1  / 128.9) x 100%
        ≈ 0.9%
 

(SGD)GEMMA N. OPIS
Chief Statistical Specialist