Davao Region Reports Decline in Inflation Rate to 4.4% in January

DAVAO CITY – The Davao Region witnessed a decrease in its year-on-year headline inflation rate to 4.4 percent in January, down from 5.3 percent in December, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) regional office. This reduction reflects a significant slowdown compared to the 9.4 percent inflation rate recorded in January of the previous year.

According to Philippines News Agency, the decline in the overall inflation rate for the region was primarily due to a slower annual increase in the food and non-alcoholic beverages index, which dropped to 7.4 percent from 8.5 percent in the prior month. Contributing factors to this trend also included reduced annual increments in housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, which moved to -2.9 percent from -1.9 percent, and in transport, which eased to 0.2 percent from 1.5 percent compared to the previous month.

The statement further detailed that January saw lower annual increases across various commodity groups including alcoholic beverages and tobacco, which slightly decreased to 12 percent from 12.2 percent; clothing and footwear, which softened to 5.5 percent from 5.8 percent; and furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance, which fell to 4.1 percent from 4.7 percent. Other sectors experiencing deceleration included health, recreation, sport, and culture, restaurants and accommodation services, financial services, and personal care and miscellaneous goods and services.

However, the information and communication commodity group bucked the trend by registering a faster annual growth rate of 0.9 percent, up from 0.8 percent in the previous month. The education services index remained unchanged at an inflation rate of 4 percent.

Moreover, the region’s food inflation saw a deceleration to 7.5 percent in January from 8.6 percent in December. This decline was significantly influenced by a sharp decrease in the inflation rate of vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses, which stood at -10.8 percent, a dramatic change from -0.6 percent in the preceding month.

PSA-11’s report highlights the dynamic nature of inflationary pressures within the Davao Region, underscoring the efforts and factors contributing to the observed decrease in inflation rates across several key sectors.