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Philippines: Poorest households hit by rise in inflation in November
MANILA, Philippines — Consumer prices for the country’s poorest households rose at a faster pace in November 2019, with prices accelerating more in areas outside Metro Manila, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported yesterday.
The growth in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the bottom 30 percent income households accelerated to 1.7 percent in November 2019 from 0.8 percent in October 2019, after five consecutive months of slowdown.
This brings the 11-month 2019 inflation average for the income subsector to 3.3 percent.
Growth accelerated in the indexes of fuel, light and water (FLW), as well as in the indexes of food, beverages and tobacco (FBT), clothing; housing and repairs; and miscellaneous items.
At the national level, food prices for this income subgroup rose by 0.4 percent in November, reversing the 0.6 percent decline in October. Price increases were seen for eggs, fish, fruits and vegetables, meat and miscellaneous foodstuff.
Inflation for the poorest households in the National Capital Region went up by 1.1 percent in November from 0.2 percent in October 2019.
Growth in consumer prices was faster in areas outside NCR at 1.7 percent in November from 0.8 percent in October.
This tracks the acceleration in headline inflation in November 2019 after five months of deceleration, fuelled by the sharp growth in the prices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco.
Headline inflation rose to 1.3 percent in November from 0.8 percent in October, coming from a high base of six percent in November 2018.
This brought the 11-month year-to-date average to 2.5 percent, still settled within the government’s target range of two up to four percent for the year.
Source: https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/01/07/1982582/poorest-households-hit-rise-inflation-november