(Eagle News)—Inflation continued its downtrend in March, clocking in at 3.3 percent.
The Philippine Statistics Authority said the 3.3 percent was slower than the 3.8 percent in January, and than the 4.3 percent in March last year.
“The downtrend was primarily due to slower annual increase in the index of the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages at 3.4 percent,” the PSA said.
According to the PSA, “annual rates also decelerated” in the indices of the following commodity groups:
- Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 10.8%;
- Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels; and furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house, both at 3.4%;
- Health, 3.9%;
- Communication, 0.3%; and
- Restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services, 3.7%.
“The rest of the commodity groups either had faster annual mark-ups or retained their previous month’s annual rates,” it said.
The PSA said inflation in areas outside the National Capital Region clocked in at 3.4 percent, a decrease from the 3.8 percent in the previous month, and the 4.1 percent in March 2018.
Annual inflation in the National Capital Region also decelerated, at 3.2 percent in March 2019, lower than the 3.8 percent in February 2019 and 5.2 percent in March 2018.
Inflation is the general rise in the price of goods and services that erodes the value, or purchasing power, of money.
