The inflation in Davao Oriental eased to 5.3 percent in March 2024 from 6.9 percent in February 2024. This brings the average inflation from January to March 2024 at 5.5 percent. In March 2023, inflation rate was higher at 12.4 percent. (Tables A and B, and Figure 1)

The downtrend in the overall inflation in March 2024 was primarily influenced by the slower year-on-year increase in the index of the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages at 6.7 percent in March 2024 from 8.9 percent in the previous month. The restaurants and accommodation services, with an inflation rate of 5.7 percent during the month from 13.7 percent in February 2024, also contributed to the downtrend.

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

a. Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, 0.1 percent from 1.1 percent; 

b. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 5.5 percent from 9.7 percent; 

c. Health, 3.0 percent from 4.6 percent;

 d. Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 6.0 percent from 6.8 percent; 

e. Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 3.7 percent from 4.0 percent; f. Clothing and footwear, 4.6 percent from 4.7 percent; and 

g. Recreation, sport and culture, 15.1 percent from 15.3 percent.

In contrast, transport registered higher inflation rate during the month at 4.1 percent from 2.5 percent in February 2024.

 The rest of the commodity groups retained their previous month’s annual rates. (Tables C) 

Food inflation at the provincial level slowed down to 7.1 percent in March 2024 from 9.3 percent in the previous month. In March 2023, food inflation was higher at 16.1 percent. (Table D) 

The deceleration of food inflation in March 2024 was primarily influenced by the lower annual growth of rice at 36.0 percent during the month from 36.1 percent in February 2024. This was followed by vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses with an inflation rate of 8.1 percent in March 2024 from 12.4 percent in the previous month. 

Lower year-on-year growth rates were also noted in the indices of the following food groups during the month: 

a. Flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals, 2.2 percent from 2.6 percent; 

b. Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, -5.2 percent from -2.2 percent; 

c. Fish and other seafood, -3.4 percent from 1.5 percent; and 

d. Milk, other dairy products and eggs, 5.6 percent from 9.5 percent.

In contrast, faster year-on-year growth increases were observed in the indices of the following food groups:

a. Corn, 6.4 percent from 3.7 percent; 

 b. Oils and fats, -0.2 percent from -1.0 percent;

 c. Fruits and nuts, 7.6 percent from 6.9 percent;

 d. Sugar, confectionery and desserts, -9.6 percent from -13.0 percent; and

 e. Ready-made food and other food products N.E.C., 4.3 percent from 3.0 percent. (Table D)

All provinces in the Davao Region recorded slower inflation rates during the month compared to their respective February 2024 annual growths, except for Davao Del Sur, which posted a higher annual increase, and Davao City, which retained its previous month's inflation rate. Davao del Norte still registered the lowest inflation rate at 3.2 percent, while Davao Del Sur had the highest inflation rate at 7.8 percent.

Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP)

The purchasing power of the peso (PPP) shows how much the peso in the base year (2018) is worth in another period. It is computed by getting the reciprocal of the CPI and multiplying the result by 100.

 The PPP in Davao Oriental stood at 0.76. This means that the amount of PHP 100.00 in 2018 is equivalent to PHP 76.00 in March 2024. In March 2023, the PPP was higher at 0.80. (Figure 2)

TECHNICAL NOTES

 Uses of CPI

The CPI is most widely used in the calculation of the inflation rate and purchasing power of peso. It is a major statistical series used for economic analysis and as a monitoring indicator of government economic policy. 

Computation of CPI 

The computation of the CPI involves consideration of the following important points: 

a. Base Year/Period - A period, usually a year, at which the index number is set to 100. It is the reference point of the index number series. 

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 behavior 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 a 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 (2006) weights.

 e. Geographic Coverage - CPI values are computed at the national, regional, and provincial levels, and for selected cities.

 Note: CPIs and inflation rates by province and selected city are posted at the PSA website (https://openstat.psa.gov.ph/).

 Approved for release: 

EMILY P. TOMOGDAN

 (Supervising Statistical Specialist) 

Officer-in-Charge