Albay

1. The Headline Inflation 

The Albay’s headline inflation or overall inflation decreased to 2.5 percent in February 2024 from 3.3 percent in January 2024. This makes the provincial average inflation from January to February 2024 at 2.9 percent. In February 2023, the inflation rate was higher at 8.5 percent. (Figure 1 and Table 1)

1.1 Main Driver to the Downtrend of the Headline Inflation

The downtrend in the overall inflation in February 2024 was primarily brought about by the slower year-on-year increase in the heavily weighted Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels at -5.6 percent in February 2024 from -1.0 percent in the previous month.  

In addition, slower annual increases were noted in the indices of the following commodity groups during the month:

    a. Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, at 9.4 percent from 11.0 percent; 
    b. Clothing and Footwear, at 5.0 percent from 5.7 percent; 
    c. Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services, at 2.2 percent from 2.8 percent; 
    d. Health, at 1.5 percent from 2.2 percent; and 
    e. Recreation, Sport and Culture, at 3.1 percent from 3.8 percent.

In contrast, faster annual increase was observed in the indices of Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, at 6.0 percent from 5.5 percent and Transport at 0.9 percent from 0.5 percent for February 2024.

The following commodity groups maintained the inflation rate of previous month:

    a. Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance, at  3.2 percent; 
    b. Information and Communication, at 0.2 percent; 
    c. Education Services, at 5.4 percent; 
    d. Restaurant and Accommodation Services, at 3.6 percent; and 
    e. Financial Services, at 0.0 percent. 1.2 Main Contribution to Headline Inflation

1.2 Main Contribution to Headline Inflation

The top three commodity groups that contributed to the February 2024 overall inflation were the following:

    a. Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages with 99.6 percent share or 2.49 percentage  points; 
    b. Restaurants and Accommodation Services with 12.7 percent share or 0.32  percentage points; and 
    c. Clothing and Footwear with 7.5 percent share or 0.19 percentage points.

2. Food Inflation

Food inflation at the provincial level increased to 6.2 percent in February 2024 from 5.6 percent in the previous month. In February 2023, Food inflation was higher at 10.3 percent.

2.1 Main Driver to the Uptrend of Food Inflation

The acceleration of food inflation in February 2024 was primarily influenced by the higher annual growth of Vegetables, Tubers, Plantains, Cooking Bananas and Pulses  at -11.6 percent during the month from -19.6 percent in January 2024. This was followed by Meat and Other Parts of Slaughtered Land Animals with an inflation rate of 0.2 percent in February 2024 from -0.9 percent and Ready-Made Food and Other Food Products n.e.c. at 7.7 percent from 7.4 percent in January 2024.

In contrast, slower annual increase in the indices of the following food groups were observed:

    a. Cereals and Cereal Products, at 26.4 percent from 26.7 percent; 
    b. Milk, Other Dairy Products and Eggs, at 2.1 percent from 3.8 percent; 
    c. Fruits and Nuts, at 2.1 percent from 3.3 percent; and 
    d. Sugar, Confectionery and Desserts, at -3.2 percent from -1.8 percent.

In addition, Fish and Other Seafood recorded an annual decrease of 2.1 percent from annual decrease of 0.1 percent, Oils and Fats recorded annual decrease of 9.3 percent from annual decrease of 7.4 percent, and Sugar, Confectionery and Desserts recorded annual decrease of 3.2 percent from annual decrease of 1.8 percent.

2.2 Main Contribution to the Food Inflation

Food inflation contributed 96.2 percent or 2.41 percentage points to the overall inflation in February 2024. Food groups with the highest to food inflation during the month were the following:

    a. Cereals and Cereal Products, which includes Rice, Corn, Flour, Bread and Other Bakery Products, with 109.4 percent share or 6.78 percentage points; 
    b. Ready-Made Food and Other Food Products N.E.C., with 4.2 percent share or 0.26 percentage points; and 
    c. Milk, Other Dairy Products and Egg, with 2.4 percent share or 0.15 percentage points.

3. Purchasing Power of Peso

The Purchasing Power of Peso in Albay for February 2024 was maintained at Php 0.76 from January 2024. Value of peso is still lower compared the value from February 2023 at Php 0.78. (Refer to Table 2.)