Central Visayas inflation rate declines

CEBU CITY — Inflation rate in Central Visayas continued to decline, settling at 1.7 percent in April, mainly due to slower annual increases in food prices, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Wilma Perante, officer in charge regional director of PSA Central Visayas (Region 7), said the latest figure marked a significant drop from 2.4 percent in March and 3.2 percent in April 2024.

Inflation is the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services rises over a period of time, which reduces the purchasing power of money. In simpler terms, when inflation occurs, your money buys less than it did before.

She said the food and nonalcoholic beverages index contributed 95.1 percent to the overall slowdown, placing the region as having the ninth-lowest inflation among the 17 regions in the country.

The decline was driven by deflation or slower price hikes in key food items. Cereals and cereal products posted a deeper deflation of -6.5 percent in April, from -2.6 percent in March.

Inflation for vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses also dropped significantly to 4.7 percent from the previous month's 14.0 percent.

Likewise, fish and other seafood recorded slower price growth, with inflation easing to 6.1 percent from 9.7 percent.

In addition to food, the indices for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels also contributed to the overall decline, accounting for a 0.70 percentage point reduction.

The transport index followed, contributing a 0.21 percentage point decrease.

Perante said that the inflation rate for the bottom 30-percent income households, which reflects the economic conditions of the most vulnerable groups, also eased to 0.3 percent in April.

This was likewise attributed to the tapering of food prices.

The PSA said the latest data indicates a moderating economic trend in Central Visayas, fueled by the stabilization of food costs across the region.