Inflation for bottom 30% up in November

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales, Manila Times, 7 Jan 2020

Inflation for low-income households picked up to 1.7 percent in November after it slowed down for five consecutive months since June 2019, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

The figure, however, is up from the 0.8 percent recorded in October but still significantly lower than the 8.3 percent in November last year.

Year to date, inflation for the bottom 30 percent households was at 3.3 percent.

“The index of fuel, light and water (FLW) posted an annual increment of 0.2 percent in November 2019, from 0.7 percent annual drop in the previous month,” PSA said.

PSA said that higher annual increases were also noted in the indices of food, beverages and tobacco (FBT) at 1.6 percent; clothing, 3.0 percent; housing and repairs, 3.7 percent; and miscellaneous, 2.3 percent. Meanwhile, the index of services exhibited a slower annual rate of 2.7 percent during the month.

Inflation for food at the national level rose by 0.4 percent in November 2019 from 0.6 percent in October, while it was registered at 8.3 percent in November last year.

PSA said inflation in the National Capital Region (NCR) went up by 1.1 percent during the month from 0.2 percent in October.

In November 2018, inflation in the NCR was higher at 6.2 percent.

“The uptrend in inflation in NCR for November 2019 was mainly due to the higher annual increment in the index of FBT at 2.1 percent. On the other hand, the annual rate of miscellaneous index eased to 1.5 percent. Moreover, the indices of FLW and services exhibited annual declines of 3.7 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively,” PSA said.

Inflation in areas outside NCR also picked up by 1.7 percent from 0.8 percent in October but still lower than the 8.3 percent in November last year.