Headline Inflation

The headline inflation of Iloilo City continued to follow a decreasing trend in December 2023 and was at its lowest value for the year. It deflated to -0.7 percent from the 1.6 percent inflation rate in the previous month, and 13.5 percent in the same month of the previous year. The headline inflation rate of Iloilo City is lower than the 3.2 percent inflation rate of the region and 3.9 percent of the country for December 2023.

Main Drivers to the Downward Trend of the Headline Inflation 

The decline in the overall inflation in Iloilo City in December 2023 was primarily brought about by the deflation of prices in the Housing, Water Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels at -11.6 percent in December 2023 from -4.1 percent in the previous month. The second major driver of the decreasing trend in headline inflation is the slowing down of the increase in prices of Food and Alcoholic Beverages with a 4.1 percent inflation rate from 5.2 percent last month.

Other contributors to the decrement in the headline inflation rate are as follows:
a. Recreation, Sports and Culture, 6.5 percent from 8.3 percent;
b. Information and Communication, 0.4 percent from 0.6 percent; and
c. Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance, 3.4
percent from the 3.5 percent.

On the other hand, the following commodity groups exhibited higher year-on-year
inflation rates in December 2023:
a. Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, 10.2 percent from 10.1 percent;
b. Health, 2.9 percent from 2.0 percent;
c. Transport, -1.3 percent from -2.2 percent;
d. Restaurants and Accommodation Services, 6.7 percent from 6.4 percent; and
e. Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services, 3.9 percent from 3.6
percent.

Meanwhile, there were no changes in the indices of Clothing and Footwear, Education Services, and Financial Services. 

Main Contributors to the Headline Inflation 

The Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels commodity group was the primary contributor to the headline inflation with 1,175.8 percent share or 8.23 percentage points. It was then followed by the Transport commodity group which had 44.4 percent share or 0.31 percentage points.

Annual Average Inflation Rate 

The average inflation rate for 2023 in the City of Iloilo was recorded at 7.1 percent, lower than the 2022 annual average of 7.8 percent. 

In comparison to the annual average inflation rates per commodity group in 2022, the indices of the following had higher annual average inflation rates in 2023: 

a. Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, 8.0 percent from 5.1 percent;
b. Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, 9.8 percent from 7.2 percent;
c. Clothing and Footwear, 2.6 percent from 0.5 percent;
d. Furnishings, Household Equipment, and Routine Household Maintenance, 11.0 
percent from 4.3 percent;
e. Health, 1.3 percent from 0.4 percent;
f. Information and Communication, 0.0 percent from -0.2 percent;
g. Recreation, Sport and Culture, 7.1 percent from 0.7 percent;
h. Restaurants and Accommodation Services, 5.9 percent from 0.4 percent; and
i. Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services, 4.2 percent from 2.9
percent.

On the contrary, disinflation was observed in the Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels commodity group with a 9.2 percent annual average inflation rate in 2023 from 13.2 percent in 2022, Transport with 6.1 percent from 23.6 percent, Education services with 2.3 percent from the 5.7 percent, and Financial Services at 0.0 percent from 8.6 percent in the previous year.

(Original Signed by SS II Donna Rose Sequio, OIC-SSS)
JERRY L. DOLUTAN
(Supervising Statistical Specialist)
Officer-in-Charge