A. INFLATION RATES FOR ALL ITEMS

Table 1. Year-on-Year Inflation Rates for All Items, BARMM: July 2023, June 2023, and July 2022(In percent, 2018=100)

Source: Retail Price Survey of Commodities for the Generation of Consumer Price IndexPhilippine Statistics Authority

The headline inflation in BARMM decelerated to 5.1 percent in July 2023, from 6.0 percent in June 2023. Inflation in July 2022 was lower at 3.6 percent. Table 1 shows that in July 2023, all provinces posted a slower movement in prices of commodities: Basilan at 4.6 percent, Lanao del Sur at 2.9 percent, Sulu at 5.8 percent, Tawi-Tawi at 4.1 percent, and Cotabato City at 4.3 percent. Maguindanao, although with the highest inflation rate among the BARMM provinces including Cotabato City, also posted a deceleration from 7.2 percent in June 2023 to 7.0 percent in July 2023.

Figure 1. Headline Inflation Rates for All Items, BARMM:July 2022 to July 2023(In percent, 2018=100)

Source: Retail Price Survey of Commodities for the Generation of Consumer Price IndexPhilippine Statistics Authority

 

Table 2. Inflation Rates by Commodity Group for All Income Households, BARMM: July 2023, June 2023, and July 2022(In percent, 2018=100)

Source: Retail Price Survey of Commodities for the Generation of Consumer Price IndexPhilippine Statistics Authority

 

On the other hand, inflation rate for Flour, Bread and Other Bakery Products, Pasta Products, And Other Cereals retained its previous month’s inflation rate at 9.7 percent.. 

Table 3. Inflation Rates by Commodity Group for Food, BARMM: May 2023, April 2023, and May 2022(In percent, 2018=100)

Source: Retail Price Survey of Commodities for the Generation of Consumer Price IndexPhilippine Statistics Authority

 

INFLATION RATES FOR FOOD ITEMS

For food index, it increased further by 7.4 percent in June 2023, from 7.3 percent in the previous month. In June 2022, food index was lower by 2.1 percent.

The increase in the region’s food inflation was mainly brought about by the annual increase in the index for Rice at 3.7 percent and Fish and Other Seafood at 7.0 percent (see Table 3).

Meanwhile, inflation rates in other food commodities had decreased, as follows:

a. Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, 8.2 percent

b. Corn, 4.4 percent;

c. Flour, Bread and Other Bakery Products, Pasta Products, And Other Cereals, 9.6 percent;

d. Oils and Fats, 5.1 percent;

e. Fruits and Nuts, 0.1 percent;

f. Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses, 10.4 percent

g. Sugar, Confectionery and desserts, 36.2 percent; and

h. Ready-made food and other food products n.e.c, (0.7) percent.

 

On the other hand, inflation rate for Milk, Other Dairy Products, and Eggs retained its previous month’s inflation rate at 7.1 percent.

 

Table 3. Inflation Rates by Commodity Group for Food, BARMM: June 2023, May 2023, and June 2022(In percent, 2018=100)

Source: Retail Price Survey of Commodities for the Generation of Consumer Price IndexPhilippine Statistics Authority

 

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 2. In BARMM, PPP is at PhP 0.83 as of June 2023.

 

Figure 2. Purchasing Power of Peso in BARMM:July 2022 – July 2023(In peso, 2018=100)

 Source: Retail Price Survey of Commodities for the Generation of Consumer Price IndexPhilippine Statistics Authority

TECHNICAL NOTES

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

The CPI is an indicator of the changes in the average retail prices of a fixed basket of goods and services commonly purchased by households relative to a base year.

Uses of CPI

The CPI is most widely used in the calculation of the inflation rate and purchasing power of peso. It is a major statistical series used for economic analysis and as a monitoring indicator of government economic policy.

Computation of CPI

The computation of the CPI involves consideration of the following important points:

a. Base Period

The reference date or base period is the benchmark or reference date or period at which the index is taken as equal to 100.

b. Market Basket

A sample of the thousands of varieties of goods purchased for consumption and services availed by the households in the country selected to represent the composite price behavior of all goods and services purchased by consumers.

c. Weighting System

The weighting pattern uses the expenditures on various consumer items purchased by households as a proportion to total expenditure.

d. Formula

The formula used in computing the CPI is the weighted arithmetic mean of price relatives, the Laspeyre’s formula with a fixed base year period (2018) weights.

e. Geographic Coverage

CPI values are computed at the national, regional, and provincial levels, and for selected cities.

Inflation Rate is the rate of change of the CPI expressed in percent. Inflation is interpreted in terms of declining purchasing power of peso

Headline Inflation refers to the rate of change in the CPI, a measure of the average standard “basket” of goods and services consumed by a typical family.

Purchasing Power of Peso shows how much the peso in the base period is worth in the current period. It is computed as the reciprocal of the CPI for the period under review multiplied by 100

Note: The dataset used in the special release is exclusive for ARMM plus Cotabato City.