PRICES of goods and services in the Cordillera region slowed down to 1.3 percent in September 2019 compared to same period last year.
The Philippine Statistics Authority in the Cordillera Administrative Region (PSA-CAR) said that Mountain Province and Ifugao recorded the highest inflation rate in September at 2.8 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively.
Mountain Province and Ifugao are followed by Apayao at 2.1 percent.
Benguet incurred the least inflation with a negative rate of 0.3 percent.
PSA-CAR added that all provinces had lower inflation rate in September except for Mountain Province.
For heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages index in the region decreased while alcoholic beverages and tobacco remained to have the highest inflation in September 2019 among other commodities in the region at 7.9 percent followed by education at 5.1 percent, and clothing and footwear at 4.5 percent.
Transportation incurred the lowest inflation rate among all other commodities.
Inflation rate refers to the change of rate in the average price level between two periods on year on year or month on month.
Among food items, corn recorded the highest consumer price index (CPI) or general measure of the change in the average retail prices of goods and services in September this year with 164.6.
Corn was followed by fruits, vegetables, and fish with 138.1, 126.7 and 125.7 index points, respectively.
CPI in the region was 119.4, which is higher by 1.5 index points from 117.9 CPI of September last year.
In general, CPI increased reflecting the rise in the average prices of goods and services in all the six provinces in the region.
The value of peso in the region dropped by one centavo from 85 centavos in 2018.
PSA Cordillera said that one peso in 2012 is worth 84 centavos in September this year.
“A basket of goods that can be bought with 100 pesos in December 2012 is worth 119.4 percent in September 2019,” PSA reported.
The purchasing power of the peso in all provinces generally weakened compared to the same month of the previous year.