The headline inflation in Camarines Sur increased to 5.4 percent in August 2024 from 4.8 percent recorded in July 2024. This brings the provincial average inflation from January to August 2024 at 4.2 percent. In addition, the inflation rate in August 2024 was higher by 1.5 percentage points than the inflation rate recorded in August 2023 at 3.9 percent.

I. Main Contributors to the Headline Inflation

The main contributor to Camarines Sur’s overall inflation during August 2024 was Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages with an inflation rate of 6.6 percent. This equates to a 55.7 percent share or 3.01 points contributing to the province's inflation. The main contributor to the inflation in this commodity group is Rice with a 24.9 percent inflation rate. This accounts for 47.6 percent share, or 2.57 points.

Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuel was the second contributor to the province’s inflation rate with a 16.7 percent share or 0.90 points, while the third primary driver was Transport with an 8.2 percent share or 0.44 points.

II. Main Drivers to the Uptrend of the Headline Inflation

The uptrend in the overall inflation in August 2024 was primarily influenced by the faster year-on-year increase in Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuel at 4.5 percent inflation from -5.1 percent in the previous month. The main contributor to the increase in inflation in this commodity group is electricity which increased by 62.0 percentage points from -40.5 percent recorded in July 2024 to 21.5 percent in August 2024.

The second contributor in the uptrend of the inflation is the faster increase in Education Services which recorded 5.4 percent inflation in August 2024 from 3.3 percent in July 2024.

In addition, inflation rate in the following commodity groups also increased:
     1. Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, 2.9 percent;
     2. Health, 1.1 percent;
     3. Recreation, Sport and Culture, 3.9 percent; and
     4. Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services, 2.8 percent

On the other hand, the following commodity groups registered slower increase in the inflation rate during the month: Food and Alcoholic Beverages, 6.6 percent; Clothing  and Footwear, 7.7 percent; Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance, 1.9 percent; Transport, 6.5 percent; and  Information and Communication, 7.8 percent.

Meanwhile, Restaurant and Accommodation Services retained its previous month’s inflation rate, while Financial Services recorded zero percent annual growth.

Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP) is inversely related to inflation rate.  Thus, as the inflation rate increases, PPP declines. Figure 4 shows that in Camarines Sur, PPP has been decreasing on the average of 0.04 annually from 2018 to 2023.  The PPP in 2023 was 0.78. This implies that the PhP1.00 in 2018 as the base year, values only PhP0.78 in 2023.

COMPONENTS OF CPI:

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. Starting February 2022, the base period is 2018.

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 behaviour 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 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
The inflation rate is the annual or monthly rate of change of the CPI expressed in percent. Inflation is interpreted in terms of declining purchasing power of money.

HEADLINE INFLATION RATE
The headline inflation rate 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.

YEAR-ON-YEAR INFLATION RATE
Year-On-Year Inflation Rate is the annual percentage change of CPI. For example, the percentage change of CPI between August 2023 and August 2024.

MONTH-ON-MONTH INFLATION RATE
Month-On-Month Inflation Rate is the monthly percentage change of CPI. For example, the percentage changes of CPI between August 2024 and July 2024.

PURCHASING POWER OF PESO (PPP)
The purchasing power of peso (PPP) shows how much 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.

For example, the PhP 1.00 in 2018 is valued only at PhP 0.78 in 2023.