The headline inflation rate at the provincial level further increased to 1.9 percent in May 2024, or a change of 0.2 percentage points from the inflation rate in the previous month. In the same reference month of the previous year, it was posted at 8.4 percent. The uptrend of inflation in May 2024 was mainly driven by the combined acceleration in the indices for selected commodity groups such as food and non-alcoholic beverages at 1.2 percent, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 2.6 percent, and information and communication at 1.0 percent. 

Moreover, higher annual gains were also noted in the inflation rate of clothing and footwear when compared with the annual figures from the previous month, at 3.3 percent.

On the other hand, lower annual increments were observed in the inflation rates of the
following commodity groups:
• Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 2.0%;
• Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 4.1%;
• Health, 0.3%;
• Recreation, sport and culture, 6.7%;
• Restaurants and accommodation services, 3.1 percent; and,
• Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 4.3%.

Meanwhile, the indices of the following commodity groups maintained compared with the
annual figures from the previous month:
• Transport, 0.3%;
• Education services, 3.2%; and,
• Financial services, -1.4%. 

The province’s food index further accelerated to 1.2 percent in May 2024, from 0.2 percent in the previous month. This was equivalent to a change of 1.0 percentage points. In May 2023, the food inflation rate was higher at 15.0 percent. Moreover, the uptrend in food inflation was mainly due to the acceleration in the indices of rice at 24.8 percent, meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals at -3.9 percent, and, fish and other seafood at -7.3 percent.

On the other hand, the annual indices of the following food items exhibited slower growth
when compared with the annual figure from the previous month, as follows:
• Corn, 5.6%;
• Flour, Bread and Other Bakery Products, Pasta Products, and Other Cereals, 4.0%;
• Milk, other dairy products and eggs, 0.8%;
• Oils and fats, -7.0%;
• Fruits and nuts, -12.5%;
• Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses, -8.1%;
• Sugar, confectionery and desserts, 1.3%; and,
• Ready-made food and other food products N.E.C., 3.0%. 

PURCHASING POWER OF PESO

The Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP) in Marinduque decline at 0.76 in May 2024. The PPP was registered at 0.78 in May 2023. As a result, the amount of goods that can be presently purchased by consumers were fewer compared to when the PPP was higher. Furthermore, the decrease in PPP in May 2024 was attributed to the higher inflation rate, given their inverse relationship.

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 (May 2024) = [(CPI (May 2024) - CPI(May 2023)) / CPI(May 2024)] x 100%
= [(130.8 – 128.4) / 128.4] x 100%
= (2.4 / 128.4) x 100%
≈ 1.9% 

(SGD)GEMMA N. OPIS
Chief Statistical Specialist
PSA PSO Marinduque

GNO/SJRDLC