KALIBO, Aklan – The province of Aklan continued to experience price hikes on basic food and non-food needs, reaching an inflation of 3.8 percent in March 2024 compared to 3.5 percent in February 2024.
This is primarily attributed to a substantial uptick in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which climbed to 123.7 in March 2024 from the recorded 119.2 CPI in March 2023.
The CPI reflects the overall change in a representative basket of goods and services since the base year 2018. On average, consumers now require an additional P237 to afford the same goods and services worth P1000 from 2018. Consequently, this has led to a decrease in the purchasing power of peso, dropping from 84 centavos in the previous year to 81 centavos in the current month.
The inflation was primarily driven by the rising prices of Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels. After experiencing a -2.3 percent inflation in the past month, inflation reached -0.2 percent during the reference month.
Following closely, the Transport Sector showed inflation of 0.8 percent in March 2024, marking an increase from the -0.2 percent recorded in the prior month.
Similarly, the inflation of Restaurants and Accommodation Services surged from 6.7 percent in February to 7.3 percent in March.
Conversely, the inflation of Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages exhibited a slowdown, dropping from 7.2 percent in February 2024 to 6.6 percent this March.
Other major commodities, including Ready-made food and other food products, Oils and fats, and Sugar, confectionery, and desserts, exhibited slower inflation in February compared to January 2024. (PSA-Aklan)/PN
