The inflation trend in the Masbate was mainly due to the higher year on year increase in the index of Food and Beverage Non-Alcoholic Beverages at 6.7 percent this month, from 5.8 in March 2024; particularly in the Cereals and cereal products. Followed by Transport at 4.2, from 2.2 in the previous, and also Restaurant and Accommodation Services whose index increased at 3.8 percent this April 2024, from 2.3 percent.

In addition, annual increases were observed in the indices of the following commodity groups/services during the month:

a - Health, 1.4 percent;

b - Recreation Sport and Culture, 5.3 percent; and

c - Personal Care and Miscellaneous Goods and Services, 3.2 percent.

On the other hand, the following commodity groups/services shows annual decreases during the month:

a - Alcoholic Beverages, 7.5 percent;

b - Clothing and Footwear, 2.5 percent;

c - Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels, 2.6 percent;

d - Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance, 5.1 percent; and

e - Information and Communication, 4.3 percent.

While the following commodity groups/services remained its annual rate during the month:

a - Education Services, 3.7 percent; and

b - Financial Services, 0.0 percent.

Food inflation in the provincial level rose to 7.2 percent from 6.3 percent in the previous month. The main drivers to the uptrend of food inflation in April 2024 were primarily influenced by the annual increase rate in Cereals and Cereals Products at 22.0 percent from 19.1 percent last month. This was followed by Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses at
-2.1 percent from -4.5 percent, and Fruits and nuts at 3.0 percent this month from 0.9 percent in the previous month.

The following commodities also showed higher annual growth rate in April 2024:

a - Sugar, confectionery and desserts, -7.8 percent; and

b - Ready-made food and other food products, 5.7 percent.

In contrary, the following food commodities have showed annual deceleration during the month:

a - Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, -2.2 percent;

b - Milk, other dairy products and eggs, -0.5 percent; and

c - Oils and fats, -6.2 percent.

While the following commodity groups/services remained its annual rate during the month:

a - Fish and seafood, -2.4 percent.

The provincial Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP) in Masbate declines to 0.77 as a result of the changes in prices and the ascending trend of the inflation rate with a movement in Consumer Price Index (CPI). (See Table 1 and Figure 2)