BUTUAN CITY – The inflation rate in the Caraga Region dropped to 4.7 percent last month, the regional Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA-13) office said Friday.
Data from the agency showed that the region registered a 4.7 percent inflation rate in June, which is lower compared to the 5.4 percent inflation logged in May this year.
“This is the fourth consecutive month of deceleration in the headline inflation and the lowest in the past 14 months in the region,” the PSA-13 said.
Low inflation rates in the region this year were recorded from March at 7.3 percent down to 6.2 percent in April and 5.4 percent in May.
The downtrend of inflation last month was mainly brought by the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages, which recorded a lower inflation rate of 5.7 percent from 6.4 percent in the previous month, the report noted.
The transport sector in Caraga also logged a -6.8 inflation rate last month from -4.5 percent in the previous month.
“The third primary driver in the inflation slowdown in June 2023 was housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, which recorded a 9.1 percent inflation rate from 9.6 percent in May 2023,” the PSA-13 report said.
Other commodity groups that contributed to the inflation downtrend last month include alcoholic beverages and tobacco, and restaurants and accommodation services commodity groups, which registered lower inflation rates at 10.5 percent, and 6.8 percent, respectively, compared with their previous month’s inflation rates.
Meanwhile, higher inflation rates were observed in some commodity groups during the period that included clothing and footwear at 4.4 percent; health (1.9 percent); information and communication (0.6 percent); recreation, sport, and culture (5.5 percent); and personal care and miscellaneous goods and services (5.7 percent).
The report also indicated that the index for furnishing, household equipment and routine household maintenance, and education services retained its previous month’s annual increments at 3.6 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively, in June. (PNA)
