‘Inflation reined in, but barely felt by poor’

MANILA, Philippines — The rise in consumer prices for the country’s bottom 30 percent income households held steady at 9.5 percent in October on slower increases in the prices of food, housing and utilities, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported yesterday.

This was the same rate as in September 2018 and a sharp uptick from 3.4 percent in October 2017. Inflation for this income population averaged seven percent in the first 10 months of the year.

Meanwhile, the labor group Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) belittled yesterday the decline of inflation rate to 6.0 percent from last month’s 6.7 percent, saying this would not be felt by the poor as the coming Christmas holidays would jack up prices of consumer goods.?

“The measly drop of 0.7 percent will benefit commodity speculators, traders and industrialists rather than lowly wage-earners,” it said in a statement.

Compared with September, faster increases were seen in the prices of clothing and services, although slower markups were noted in the indices of food, beverage and tobacco; as well as on fuel, light, water, housing and repairs.

The heavily weighted food index alone grew at a slower pace of 9.8 percent in October from 9.9 percent in the previous month and 3.3 percent in October 2017. This was attributed mainly to the slower growth in the prices of corn, fruits and vegetables and meat.

Prices for this particular consumer group in the National Capital Region (NCR) grew significantly slower in October at 6.9 percent compared with 8.1 percent in September and 5.2 percent in October 2017. In the first 10 months of the year, inflation averaged 6.9 percent.

Slower increases were seen in the prices of food, beverage and tobacco as well as in utilities.

For the food index alone, slower price increases were seen in the following food groups: dairy products, fish, meat and miscellaneous food items.

Faster growth, meanwhile, was seen in the indices of rice, cereal preparations and eggs.

In areas outside NCR, inflation followed the national trend, settling at 9.5 percent in October. Compared with September, flat growth was seen in the prices of food, beverage and tobacco, while slower growth was seen in fuel, light and water.

Growth in the food index alone decelerated to 9.9 percent in October 2018. The annual rate was posted at 10 percent in the previous month, while it settled to 3.3 percent in October 2017. Among the food groups, slower growth in prices was seen for corn, fruits and vegetables and meat.

All other commodity groups, meanwhile, registered faster growth in prices.

In October, the Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) region registered the highest headline rate of 15.8 percent while the lowest inflation was recorded in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao at 5.6 percent.

BMP claimed that such minimal drop in inflation is likely to be used by traders as an opportunity to buy cheap and sell high during the holidays as workers get their 13th month pay and bonuses.

“Between today and the holidays, there is an insignificant amount of time for the workers and the poor to feel the effects of the drop in inflation on retail prices of their basic needs, if there will be any,” said BMP chairman Leody de Guzman.?He noted that “with such a small window, the decline in inflation rate will hardly make a dent on market prices before it starts rising again.” – With Ding Cervantes