Consumer Price Index in NCR rises to 121.4 percent

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the National Capital Region (NCR) saw a slight increase, with a 0.7 percentage point uptick from 120.7 percent in December 2023 to 121.4 percent in January 2024. On a yearly basis, the CPI increased by 3.2 percentage points during the month from 118.2 percent in January 2023. The CPI in the NCR consistently remained below the Philippines' overall CPI, settling at 124.8 percent in January 2024, which registered an increase of 0.7 percentage points from its December 2023 index of 124.1 percent.

The CPI of 121.4 percent in January 2024 indicated that consumer prices in the NCR, on average, had increased by 21.4 percent from the base year 2018.  This can also be interpreted that a basket of commodities that can be purchased at PhP100.00 by an average Filipino household in NCR in 2018 can be bought at PhP121.4 in January 2024. (Figure 1)

Inflation rate in NCR continues to decline to 2.8 percent

The inflation rate in NCR continued to drop by reaching 2.8 percent in January 2024, down from  3.5 percent in December and 4.2 percent in November 2023. This represents a 0.7 percentage point decrease in inflation compared to the previous month's record.  In January 2023, the inflation rate in the region was recorded at 8.6 percent. (Figure 2)

Similarly, at the national level, inflation in the Philippines slowed down further to 2.8 percent this January 2024 from 3.5 percent in December 2023.  The downward trend in inflation was also recorded across all seventeen (17) other regions, with BARMM  having a decrease 2 percentage points in their inflation rate this January 2024. This was followed by Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula) and Region V (Bicol Region) with a decrease of 1.9 percentage points and 1.8 percentage points, respectively.

Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuel index contributes to deceleration in inflation within the NCR.

The index of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels still contributed to slow down the inflation in NCR with a 1.5 percentage points dropped from its 4.8 percent inflation rate in December 2023 to reach 3.3 percent this January. The decrease in the inflation rate in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels contributed to around 50.9 percent to the overall downtrend in inflation for the month.  The index of food and non-alcoholic beverages commodity group came next as the major contributor to slower inflation in the region as it slowed down to 1.9 percent this January from 
2.8 percent inflation rate in December. This was followed by the index of Restaurants and accommodation services which registered a decrease of 0.6 percentage point from its 5.3 percent inflation in December 2023 to reach 4.7 percent in January 2024.

Annual decrease were also observed in the indices of the following commodity groups:

a.    Financial services, -0.1percent;
b.    Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 4.3 percent;
c.    Health, 2.7 percent;
d.    Recreation, sport and culture, 1.9 percent; and
e.    Transport, 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the annual growth rates for the remaining commodity groups increased from their previous month’s record. (Table 1)

Food inflation cutbacks to 1.8 percent

Inflation of food dips down further to 1.8 percent this January 2024, recording 1.1 percentage points dropped from its to 2.9 percent inflation in December 2023.  The slowdown of food inflation was mainly brought by the lower year-on-year growth rate in the index of Fish and other seafood which decreased to 3.6 percent in January 2024 from 6.1 percent in December 2023.  This was followed by the index of  fruits and nuts which registered an annual decrease of 15.8 percent this month from 21.3 percent in December 2023 and vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses which contracted negative 20.2 percentage points in January 2024 from negative 18.3 percent last December 2023.

Additionally, the following five commodity groups also exhibited lower inflation this month:

a)    Flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products,  and other cereals, 5.8 percent;
b)    Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, -2.0 percent;
c)    Milk, other dairy products and eggs, 4.0 percent;
d)    Sugar, confectionery and desserts, 4.0 percent;
e)    Oils and fats, -5.2 percent; and
f)    Ready-made food and other food products n.e.c., 5.0 percent

Meanwhile, the index of cereals and cereal products commodity group registered higher inflation with 11.2 percent.

Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP)

The PPP is a measure of the real value of the peso in a given period relative to a chosen reference period and is computed by getting the reciprocal of the CPI and multiplying the result by 100.  The PPP is inversely related to the CPI thus an increase in the CPI will result in a decrease in the PPP.  

In January 2024, the PPP in NCR slightly dropped at 0.82 from the previous month’s level of 0.83. The PPP in January 2023 was at 0.85. (Figure 3)

PACIANO B. DIZON
Regional Director
PSA-NCR