INFLATION rate increased in July after a slowdown in June amid faster rise in utilities, food, and transportation costs during the period, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) yesterday, August 6.
At a press conference, National Statistician and PSA chief Claire Dennis Mapa said inflation — which measures the rate of increase in the prices of goods and services — accelerated to 4.4% last month, faster than the previous month’s 3.7% rate.
This brought the year-to-date inflation print to clock in at 3.7%, still within the government’s ceiling of 2% to 4%.
It also fell within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 4% to 4.8% forecast range.
“Ang pangunahing dahilan ng mas mataas na antas ng inflation nitong Hulyo 2024 kaysa noong Hunyo 2024 ay ang mas mabilis na pagtaas ng presyo ng Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels sa antas na 2.3% [from 0.1% in June],” Mapa said.
The PSA chief said the utilities index contributed 70.4% to the overall inflation rate for July.
Mapa said the slower decline in electricity prices at -5.4% from -13.6% in June was the primary contributor in the higher inflation for the utilities group as well as the faster rise in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cost at 20.2% from 14.7% month-on-month.
“Ang pangalawang dahilan ng mas mataas na antas ng inflation nitong Hulyo 2024 kaysa noong Hunyo 2024 ay ang mas mabilis na pagtaas ng presyo ng Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages,” the PSA chief said.
The Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages index saw an inflation rate of 6.4%, up from 6.1% in June. It accounted for 17% of the overall uptrend.
The faster increase in meat prices at 4.8% from 3.1%, fruits and nuts at 8.4% from 5.6%, as well as the slower decline in fish and other seafood cost at -0.8% from -1.4% contributed to the faster inflation in the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages index.
The third commodity group which contributed to the faster inflation rate in July was Transport with an outturn of 3.6% from 3.1%, accounting for 6.8% of the overall increment.
This was due to the swifter rise in gasoline prices during the month at 5.4% from 2.3% as well as diesel, which saw an increase of 9.2% from 8.2%.
Food inflation
Moreover, food inflation, which tracks the movement of food items in a “basket” commonly purchased by households, rose to 6.7% in July from 6.5% in June — indicating that food prices remain elevated.
The higher food inflation was attributed to faster increases in meat and fruits prices.
Faster increments were also seen in the corn at 17.5% from 13.1%; milk, other dairy products, and eggs at 1.8% from 1.3%; and ready-made food at 6% from 5.9%.
Rice inflation, meanwhile, saw a decline to 20.9% from 22.5% in June.
While rice inflation slowed, it remained a top contributor to the overall July inflation with 1.9 percentage points.
Likewise, flour, bread, and cereals eased to 2.6% from 3% while vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pluses also slowed down to 6.1% from 7.2%.
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the government is implementing crucial interventions to support the most vulnerable sectors and ensure food security amid the ongoing La Niña phenomenon and the higher inflation recorded in July 2024.
The NEDA chief added that the weather phenomenon is expected to persist until the first quarter of 2025. (GMA Integrated News)
