Inflation quickened to 3.8% in April —PSA

Consumer prices in the Philippines grew faster for the third straight month in April to hit the quickest pace in four months and breach the government’s target range of 2.0% to 4.0%, government data released Tuesday showed.

In a press conference on Tuesday, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported headline inflation — the rate of increase in the prices of goods and services — at 3.8% in April, bringing the year-to-date rate to 3.3%.

The latest print compares with the 3.7% in March, and the 6.6% in April 2023. It is also the fastest since the 3.9% in December 2023.

The PSA attributed the uptrend primarily to the higher prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages which contributed 2.3 percentage points to the headline inflation, with prices up by 6.0% year-on-year.

Transport prices grew by 2.6% contributing 0.2 percentage points, while information and communication prices by 0.5%, faster than the 0.4% in the previous month.

Data from the Department of Energy (DOE) show that year-to-date adjustments stood at a per liter net increase of P7.75 for gasoline, P5.10 for diesel, and P1.05 for kerosene as of March 26, 2024.

Food inflation — which contributed 57.9% or 2.2 percentage points to overall inflation — stood at 6.3% during the month, mainly due to higher prices of vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses whose index climbed by 4.3%.

Fish and other seafood prices also increased by 0.4%, and ready-made food and other food products by 4.8%.

Rice inflation posted a slight easing in the month at 23.9% from 24.4% in the previous month, which the PSA attributed to the movement in world prices.

“Ang nakita namin, bumaba nang konti ang world price ng rice. Nag-peak siya noong January 2024, and then may pagbaba nu'ng February and March, konti lang (What we saw is a slight decline in world rice prices. It peaked in January 2024 and then there was a downward movement in February and March, just a bit),” National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said.

“But the trajectory is that two months na siya du'n sa world prices bumaba (world prices have been declining for two months), so this might have impact sa pagbaba ng presyo ng bigas ng konti (on the decrease in the price of rice a bit),” he added.

The PSA monitors three rice subgroups — regular-milled rice prices averaged P51.25 per kilogram in April, higher than the P51.11 in March. Meanwhile, declines were seen in prices of well-milled rice at P56.42 per kilogram (from P56.44 in March), and special rice at P64.68 (from P64.75).

Core inflation — which excludes selected food and energy items — clocked in at 3.2%, slower than the 3.4% in March, and the 7.9% in April 2023.

Broken down geographically, the National Capital Region (NCR) saw a 2.8% inflation, down from 3.3% the previous month mainly due to the lower annual increments in housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels.

Outside Metro Manila, 13 regions recorded higher inflation rates — the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, the Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, the Davao Region, Soccsksargen, the Caraga Region, and the Bangsamoro Region.

The Calabarzon Region saw a slower inflation rate versus March, while the Bicol Region and Central Visayas posted the same rate as March.

Inflation was faster for the bottom 30% income households at 5.2%. This compares with the 4.6% in March, and the 7.4% in April 2023.

Main drivers were the higher annual growth rates of food and non-alcoholic beverages at 8.1%, transport prices at 2.4%, and information and communication at 0.8%.

This comes as inflation remained as the most urgent national concern for the majority of adult Filipinos in the first quarter of 2024, based on results of a nationwide survey released mid-April. It was followed by access to affordable food, and the increase in wages. —KG, GMA Integrated News