Leyte’s inflation rate slightly climbed by 0.4 percentage point in June 2021, from 0.9% in May 2021 to 1.3% during reference month. Meanwhile, the region’s inflation rate slightly increased by 0.2 percentage point from 3.1% in May 2021 to 3.3% in June 2021. The inflation rate of Leyte was lower than the region’s rate since February last year.
The commodity groups that reported positive inflation rate in Leyte are: Transport (5.6%); Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (2%); Health (1.6%); Furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house (1.5%); Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages (1.4%); Communication (0.7%); Restaurant and Miscellaneous Goods and Services (0.7%); Clothing and footwear (0.5%); and Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (0.3%).
Meanwhile, Recreation and Culture (-3.8%) posted negative inflation rates in June 2021. Education had no changes on its year-on-year CPI during the reference month.
On a month-on-month comparison, four (4) major commodity groups showed no changes in its May and June 2021 inflation rates: Alcoholic beverages and tobacco; Clothing and footwear; Recreation and culture; and Education.
Five (5) major commodity groups posted an increment on its inflation rates. Food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 0.7 percentage point, from 0.7% in May 2021 to 1.4% in June 2021. Communication increased by 0.7 percentage point, from 0.0 percent in May to 0.7% in June 2021. Health also showed an increase by 0.6% point, from 1% in May to 1.6% in June. Restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services increased by 0.4 percentage point, from 0.3% in May 2021 to 0.7% in June 2021. Lastly, Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels increased by 0.3 percentage point during the reference month.
Meanwhile, Transport recorded a decrease of 1.9 percentage points inflation rate from 7.5% in May 2021 to 5.6% in June 2021. Also, Furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house posted a 0.1 percentage point decrease on its month-on-month inflation rate from 1.6% in May 2021 to 1.5% in June 2021.
The inflation rate is the general rise in prices over a period. It indicates how fast or how slow price changes over two-time periods. Contrary to common knowledge, low inflation does not necessarily connote that prices are falling; instead, it means that prices continue to increase at a slower rate. It is a derived indicator of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).