- CHERYL G. CRUZ
Bacolod City’s inflation rate for January 2023 increased to 12.1 percent from 9.7 percent in December 2022, while Negros Occidental logged a slight dip at 12.2 percent compared to 12.3 percent in December, the provincial Philippine Statistics Authority said.
PSA Negros Occidental chief statistical specialist Luis Gonzales said the slight decrease in inflation rate in the province was due to moderate annual decrease in some commodities, like food and non-alcoholic beverages, alcoholic beverages and tobacco, clothing and footwear, transport, restaurants, and accommodation services.
The upward inflation in the highly-urbanized city was brought by “remarkable” increases in the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, furnishing and household equipment, health, recreation, sports and culture, restaurants and accommodation services, and personal care, miscellaneous goods and services, the PSA special release showed.
Negros Occidental also logged a decrease in the prices of food commodities, like cereals, meat and other parts of slaughtered animals, vegetables and tubers/plantains/cooking bananas and pulses, and ready-made foods.
In Bacolod, growth rates were noted in rice, fish and other sea foods, milk and other dairy products, oils and fats, vegetables/tubers cooking bananas and pulses, and non-alcoholic beverages.
Negros Occidental posted an average 12.1 percent non-food inflation for January 2023, while Bacolod logged an increase of 13.0 percent from 9.4 percent in December.
Gonzales said this was due to the “brisk increment” in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels; furnishing and household equipment, health, recreation and culture, restaurant and accommodation services, and personal hygiene and miscellaneous goods and services.
The country’s headline inflation rate for January was at 8.7 percent from 8.1 percent in December 2022, with housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, also as main drivers.
Increasing prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed as well to the higher inflation at the start of this year, due to the more expensive prices of vegetables and tubers, milk, other dairy products and eggs, the PSA said./CGC
