The headline inflation rate at the provincial level further decreased to 3.0 percent in December 2023, or a change of -1.4 percentage points from the inflation rate in the previous month. In the same reference month of the previous year, it was posted at 9.1 percent. The downtrend of inflation in December 2023 was mainly driven by the combined deceleration in the indices for selected commodity groups such as food and non-alcoholic beverages at 2.6 percent, restaurants and accommodation services at 5.7 percent, and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 3.2 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:

• Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 5.5%;
• Clothing and footwear, 1.4%; and
• Recreation, sport and culture, 8.4%.

On the other hand, higher annual increments were observed in the inflation rates of the following commodity groups:

• Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 5.8%;
• Health, 1.5%;
• Information and communication, 0.9%; and
• Transport, -0.2.

Meanwhile, the indices of the following commodity groups maintained compared with the annual figures from the previous month:

• Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 9.2%;
• Education services, 3.2%; and
• Financial services, 0.0%.

The province’s food index further decelerated to 2.4 percent in December 2023, from 6.4 percent in the previous month. This was equivalent to a change of -4.0 percentage points. In December 2022, the food inflation rate was higher at 15.7 percent. Moreover, the downtrend in food inflation was mainly due to the deceleration in the indices of vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses at -8.4 percent, fish and other seafood at -5.3 percent, and rice at 15.3 percent.

Furthermore, the annual indices of the following food items also showed slower growth compared to the figures from the previous month, as follows:

• Fruits and nuts, 4.8%;
• Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, 0.7%;
• Milk, other dairy products and eggs, 5.5%;
• Ready-made food and other food products N.E.C., 5.4%;
• Oils and fats, -1.2%;
• Corn, 7.1%; and
• Flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals, 7.9%.
   

On the other hand, the annual index of sugar, confectionery and desserts maintained when compared with the annual figure from the previous month, at 1.3 percent.

PURCHASING POWER OF PESO
The Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP) in Marinduque increased to 0.77 in December 2023. The PPP was registered at 0.79 in December 2022. 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 increase in PPP was attributed to the lower inflation rate, given that they have an 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.
  • 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.
  • 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 (December 2023) = [(CPI (December 2023) - CPI(December 2022)) / CPI(December 2022)] x 100%
                                                     = [(130.7 – 126.9) / 126.9] x 100%
                                                     = (3.8 / 126.9) x 100%
                                                     ≈ 3.0%
 

(SGD)GEMMA N. OPIS
Chief Statistical Specialist