Consumer Price Index in NCR increases to 120.0 percent

In August 2023, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the National Capital Region (NCR) registered an increase of 1.4 percentage points, reaching 120.0 percent, up from 118.6 percent in the previous month.  On a yearly basis, the CPI increased by 6.7 percentage points during the month from 113.3 percent in August 2022.  The CPI in the NCR consistently remained below the Philippines' overall CPI, settling at 122.5 percent in August 2023, showing an increase of 1.3 percentage points from its July 2023 index of 121.2 percent.

The CPI of 120.0 percent in August 2023 indicated that consumer prices in the NCR, on average, had increased by 20.0 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 PhP120.0 in August 2023. (Figure 1)

Inflation rate in NCR advances to 5.9 percent

The inflation rate in NCR advanced to 5.9 percent this August 2023 from a stagnant level of 5.6 percent in the last two preceding months.  In August 2022, the inflation rate was recorded at 5.7 percent. The average inflation for the first eight (8) months of 2023 stood at 7.0 percent.  (Figure 3)

At the national level, the headline inflation rate for the Philippines increased to 5.3 percent in August 2023 from 4.7 percent in July 2023.   Faster inflation was also observed in twelve (12) more regions across the country. Among these regions, Region III (Central Luzon) led the list with a 1.8 percentage point increase, followed by Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula) with a 1.3 percentage point uptick, and Region II (Cagayan Valley) with a 1.1 percentage point rise in inflation for the current month compared to July 2023. 

Index of food and non-alcoholic beverages pushes inflation upward

The index of food and non-alcoholic beverages pushed the inflation rate in NCR to an upward trend as it climbed to 8.6 percent this August 2023 from 6.4 percent in the previous month.  This commodity group contributed about 62.5 percent of the upward trend in inflation during the month.  Additionally, the inflation rate of the transport commodity group rebounded from -3.2 percent in July 2023 to 1.4 percent this month, contributing around 35.8 percent to the overall rise in inflation in NCR.  Other commodity groups that recorded an increase in inflation this month were clothing and footwear at 2.3%, health at 2.7%, and recreation, sport and culture commodity group at 3.5 percent.

On the other hand, six (6) commodity groups recorded slower inflation in August 2023.  Leading the group was the index of education services with a 3.3 percent inflation, down by 4.8 percentage points from its 8.1 percent inflation in July 2023.  This was followed by restaurants and accommodation services at 7.9 percent, and housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels commodity group at 5.3 percent inflation. The other commodity groups that registered slower inflation are the following:

a. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 5.8 percent;

b. Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 

6.1 percent; and

c. Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 3.9 percent.

Meanwhile, the indices for the rest of the commodity groups continued to move at their respective previous month’s annual growth rates. (Table 1)

Food inflation accelerates at 8.9 percent

Inflation of food accelerated at 8.9 percent this month from 6.5 percent in July 2023. The acceleration of food inflation was mainly brought about by the higher year-on-year growth rate in the index of rice which increased to 7.5 percent this August 2023 from 2.1 percent in the previous month.  This was followed by vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses with an inflation rate of 37.8 percent during the month from 28.5 percent in July 2023.  In addition, faster annual increments were also noted in the indices of fish and other seafood at 7.6 percent and in meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals which recorded a reversal in trend from -2.8 percent in July 2023 to 0.4 percent in August 2023. 

Meanwhile, compared to the previous month’s inflation rate, the following food commodity groups recorded a lower annual growth during the month:

a) Corn, 8.5 percent;

b) Flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals, 

8.7 percent;

c) Milk, other dairy products and eggs, 5.3 percent;

d) Oils and fats, 0.7 percent;

e) Fruits and nuts, 18.4 percent;

f) Sugar, confectionery and desserts, 12.2 percent; and

g) Ready-made food and other food products n.e.c., 9.2 percent. (Table 2)

Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP) dips to 0.83

The PPP is a measure of the real value of the peso in a given period relative to a chosen reference 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.

(Sgd.) PACIANO B. DIZON
Regional Director