The headline inflation of prices in Davao de Oro decreased to 4.1 percent in March 2024 from 4.9 percent in February 2024, or a decrease of 0.8 percentage point. Inflation of prices in March 2023 was higher at 11.5 percent. The average inflation for the year 2024 stood at 4.4 percent. (Table 1 and Figure 1)

The decrease in the province’s inflation was mainly brought about by the downtrend annual rate in the index of Food and non-alcoholic beverages which decreased to 7.5 percent from 9.2 percent in February 2024; Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance at 7.1 percent from 8.2 percent in February 2024; and Clothing and footwear at 6.2 percent from 7.0 percent in February 2024. (Table 2)

On the downtrend of the March 2024 inflation, these three commodity groups had a share of 89.4 percent, 3.7 percent, and 2.9 percent, respectively.

The following commodity groups also posted a downtrend in the overall inflation during the period as compared with their previous month’s inflation rates:

a. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 8.2 percent;
b. Recreation, sport and culture, 13.4 percent; and
c. Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 3.9 percent.

Meanwhile, an uptrend in the overall inflation for the month of March 2024 was recorded in the commodity groups of Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels with -4.3 percent inflation, Health with 6.9 percent inflation, Transport with 1.3 percent inflation, and Information and communication with 0.5 percent inflation. Moreover, Education services, and Restaurant and accommodation services commodity groups posted the same inflation rate from February 2024 to March 2024. Additionally, Financial services remain no price changes since April 2022. (Table 2)

Food and non-alcoholic beverages group shared the highest contribution for the month’s inflation rate at 3.7 points (90.0 percent). As to the percent share to the month’s uptrend rate of the said commodity group, Cereals and cereal products posted the highest percent share with 13.1 percent inflation rate, followed by Fish and other seafood with 8.4 percent inflation rate, and Fruits and nuts with 28.2 percent inflation rate. (Table 3)

The second highest contributor to the March 2024 inflation rate is the Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance commodity group with a contribution of 0.2 points (5.5 percent) among all items. Under this group, Non-durable household goods posted the highest percent share with 7.2 percent inflation rate; followed by Major household appliances, whether electric or not with 7.9 percent inflation rate, and Domestic services and household services with 8.2 percent inflation rate.)

Clothing and footwear commodity group ranked third with a contribution of 0.2 points (5.1 percent). Under this group, Garments posted the highest percent share with 6.6 percent inflation rate, followed by Shoes and other footwear with 5.1 percent inflation rate, and Other articles of clothing and clothing accessories with 3.7 percent inflation rate. (Table 5)

Below is the inflation rates trend of Davao de Oro Province since the rebasing of market basket with year 2018 as the base year.

Consequently, the Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP) based on year 2018 in Davao de Oro is equivalent to 0.76 in March 2024. (Figure 2)

Technical Notes

Price – is the amount or value paid in exchange for the commodity or a service rendered.

Retail/Consumer Price – refers to the price at which a commodity is sold in small quantities for consumption. 

Market Basket – a term used to refer to a sample of goods and services that are commonly purchased and bought by an average Filipino household.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) – it is an indicator of the change in the average retail prices of a fixed basket of goods and services commonly purchased by an average Filipino household. It shows how much on the average, prices of goods and services have increased or decreased from a particular reference period known as base year.

Inflation Rate – is an indicator derived from the CPI. It refers to the annual rate of change or the year-on-year change of the CPI expressed in percent. Inflation is interpreted in terms of declining purchasing power of money.

Weight – a value attached to a commodity or group of commodities depending on the magnitude of its contribution to the index.

Base Period – a reference date at which the index is equal to 100. Base year is 2018.

Index Methodology – a Laspeyre’s formula: fixed base year and weights.

Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP) – the measure of how much the peso in the base period is worth in the current period.

Percentage Change – is a simple mathematical concept that represents the degree of change over time. It is used for many purposes in finance, often to represent the price change of a security.

Headline Inflation – measures changes in the cost of living based on movements in the prices of a specified basket of major commodities. It refers to the annual rate of change or the year-on-year change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).