Baguio inflation drops in August, Cordillera steady

BAGUIO CITY — August inflation dropped sharply in the summer capital, from 6.9 percent in July to 5.8 percent last month, due to lower food costs, manageable rent, and even affordable college tuition and other campus expenses, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported on Sept. 10.

Lower food prices sufficiently slowed vegetable inflation, which dropped to negative 2.5 percent in August from 8.1 percent in July due to an oversupply, like cabbages. Inflation for fish like bangus, which are imported from Pangasinan, fell to 2 percent from 4.7 percent in July, while inflation for fruits like bananas dropped to 0.4 percent from 3.9 percent.

The key drivers of Baguio’s slower inflation were the drop in apartment rent expenses to 5.6 percent in August from 7.5 percent in July and slower inflation for household LPG, which measured 31.7 percent in August from 35.1 percent in July, said lawyer Brozybroz Mateo, supervising statistical specialist in Benguet.

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Education services in the city, a major academic hub in northern Luzon, had an inflation rate of 2.1 percent in August, down from 4.8 percent in July. Tertiary education inflation also slowed significantly, to 4.3 percent in August from 10.1 percent in July, Mateo said.

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For the entire Cordillera, however, regional inflation in August retained the July rate of 6.8 percent, said Aldrin Federico Bahit Jr., PSA chief statistician in the Cordillera.

He said the mountain region’s inflation still reflected a number of highs. Rice inflation jumped to 15.2 percent last month from 9 percent in July, while fuel, which drove previous inflation, also rose. Diesel inflation spiked to 43.4 percent in August from 30.1 percent in July, while gasoline inflation increased to 37 percent from 35.5 percent.

In Baguio, where fuel costs are unusually higher, diesel inflation rose to 38.3 percent in August from 29.7 percent in July, while gas inflation dropped to 33.8 percent from 37.5 percent, Bahit reported.

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The city was beset by a strong monsoon and typhoons in August, which dumped 2,868 millimeters of rain, triggering a fatal landslide and disrupting trade. A ceasefire in the war on Iran was also being negotiated at the time, briefly calming world oil markets.

The slowdown in inflation was reflected in the highland provinces of Apayao (14.8 percent in August from 15.2 percent in July), Mountain Province (7.1 percent from 7.6 percent), and Ifugao (3.8 percent from 4.4 percent). But inflation grew in Abra (13.5 percent from 12.1 percent) and Kalinga (7.2 percent from 5.4 percent). /mcm