The rate of increase in the prices of goods and services in the province and city of Iloilo slowed down further in December last year.
Based on data from the Provincial Statistical Office (PSO), Iloilo province posted an inflation rate of 2.7% in the final month of 2023.
The figure was lower compared to 3.2% in November 2023 and 9.4% in the same month a year ago.
It was also below the regional average of 3.2% and the national average of 3.9% in December 2023.
The continued slowdown in inflation “was primarily driven by the deflation of prices in the Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and other Fuels at -7.5% inflation rate from -3.4%,” according to PSO.
The office also attributed the deceleration to the slower increase in the prices of Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services (from 3.9% to 2.6%).
The top three contributors to the province’s inflation last month were Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages with 115.9% share or 3.12 percentage points; Alcoholic Beverages, and Tobacco with 9.1% share or 0.250 percentage points; and Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance with 8.0 percent share or 0.21 percentage points.
Meanwhile, the city’s inflation deflated to -0.7% in December 2023 from the previous month’s 1.6% and 13. 5% in the same month a year ago.
The decrease was attributed to the slower price growth of Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels (from -4.1% to 11.6%) and Food and Alcoholic Beverages (from 5.4% to 5.2%).
The Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels commodity group was the primary contributor to the city’s inflation with 1,175.8% share or 8.23% points, followed by the Transport commodity group with 44.4% share or 0.31%.IMT
