The inflation rate of Western Visayas in November slowed down to 3.2 percent, 0.7 percent lower than in October that was at 3.9 percent, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported.
However, the inflation rate of Region 6 was higher than the national average of 2.5 percent despite slowing down from 3.9 percent in October, the PSA reported.
Bicol Region shares the same inflation rate with Western Visayas, and Cagayan Valley has the highest inflation among other regions in the country at 3.4 percent.
The PSA records also showed the inflation rates per commodity in the Western Visayas, with education and restaurants and accommodation services having the highest inflation at 8.1 and 6 percent, respectively.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages have an inflation rate of 3.3 percent, alcoholic beverage and tobacco with 3.1 percent, clothing and footwear with 4.4 percent, housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels with 3.3 percent, furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance – 3.4 percent;
Health with 2.9 percent, transport with – 0.1 percent, information and communication with 0.6, recreation, sport and culture with 2.6 percent, financial services with -1 percent, and personal care and miscellaneous goods and services with 2.8 percent.
The Philippines’ overall inflation increased to 2.5 percent in November 2024 from 2.3 percent in October bringing the national average inflation rate from January to November to 3.2 percent, the PSA said.
The uptrend in the overall inflation last month was primarily influenced by the faster annual increment in the index of the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages at 3.4 percent from 2.9 percent in October, it added.
Also contributing to the uptrend was transport with a slower year-on-year decrease of 1.2 percent in October from a 2.1 percent annual drop in the previous month, the PSA said.*