ARMM Consumer Price Index (as of January 2019)
Consumer Price Index
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is an indicator of the changes in the average retail prices of fixed basket of goods and services commonly purchased by households relative to a base year. ARMM recorded a CPI of 127.2 in January 2019. The region’s CPI is the highest in the entire country during this period.
Figure 2 shows that commodity groups of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, and Restaurant and Miscellaneous Goods and Services have the highest corresponding CPIs of 162.0, 135.4 and 123.1 in January 2019. On the other hand, Transport, Communication, and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels have the lowest CPIs of 100.4, 103.2, and 110.6, respectively.
The Province of Sulu recorded the highest CPI in the region in January 2019 at 138.6, as shown in Figure 3. This was followed by Basilan and Maguindanao with CPIs of 129.0 and 125.2, respectively. Figure 3 also shows that Tawi-Tawi and Lanao del Sur have the lowest corresponding CPIs of 123.2 and 123.4.
Inflation Rate
Figure 4 shows that the inflation rate of ARMM decelerated to 6.1 percent in January 2019 from the 7.5 percent inflation rate in December 2018. This implies that the average retail prices of goods and services in the market basket in ARMM increased by 6.1 percent in January 2019 compared to the prices in January 2018.
Commodity groups of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, Restaurant and Miscellaneous Goods and Services, and Health have the highest inflation rates in January 2019 recorded at 15.4 percent, 10.0 percent, and 6.9 percent, respectively. On the other hand, commodity groups of Communication, Transport, and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels have the lowest corresponding inflation rates of 2.3 percent, 2.6 percent, and 3.0 percent; while the average prices in Education decreased by 4.1 percent in January 2019 (see Figure 5).
It is shown in Figure 6 that Basilan has the highest inflation rate of 11.5 percent in January 2019. This is followed by Sulu and Tawi-Tawi with 11.1 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively. On the other hand, Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao recorded the lowest corresponding inflation rates of 1.6 percent and 4.2 percent in the region during the reference period.
Purchasing Power of Peso
Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP) is inversely related to inflation rate. Thus, as the inflation rate increases, PPP declines, as shown in Figure 7. In ARMM, PPP is at 0.79 as of January 2019. This is 2.47 percent lower than the average annual PPP in 2018. The 0.79 PPP implies that the Php1.00 in 2012, as the base year, values only Php0.79 in January 2019.