THE inflation rate jumped to 4.2 percent in January 2021, the highest since February 2019.
This was also higher than the 3.5 percent posted in December 2020, the 2.9 percent in January 2020, and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) forecast of 3.3 to 4.1 percent for the month.
Core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, was 3.4 percent, higher than the 3.3 percent in December 2020 and in January 2020.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said higher prices of the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages pushed overall inflation up in January.
The inflation for this commodity basket spiked to 6.2 percent in January from 4.8 percent in December 2020.
For food alone, inflation jumped to 6.6 percent from 2.1 percent a year ago and 4.9 percent a month ago.
The indices of meat and vegetables both registered double-digit annual increases of 17.1 percent and 21.2 percent, respectively.
Faster annual increases were also recorded in the indices of the following food groups:
• Corn, 1.6 percent;
• Other cereals, flour, cereal preparation, bread, pasta and other bakery products, 2.1 percent;
• Fish 3.7 percent;
• Oils and fats, 2.9 percent; and
• Fruits, 9.0 percent.
The indices of rice, and milk, cheese and egg retained their corresponding previous month’s annual rates of 0.1 percent and 1.7 percent.
On the other hand, inflation were slower in the indices of sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery at 0.3 percent, and food products not elsewhere classified at 3.2 percent.
Aside from the food and beverage index, the transport (8.6 percent), and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services (3.0 percent) also contributed to the higher overall inflation in the country.
Inflation decelerated in the indices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco (11.7 percent), and furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house (2.9 percent).
The rest of the commodity groups retained their previous month’s annual rates, except for recreation and culture, whose annual rate decreased further by -0.7 percent during the month.
Inflation in the National Capital Region (NCR) rose to 4.3 percent in January 2021 from 3.2 percent in December 2020 and 2.7 percent in January 2020.
For areas outside NCR, inflation went up to 4.2 percent in January 2021 from 3.7 percent in December 2020 and 3.0 percent in January 2020.
Twelve regions outside NCR posted higher inflation, led by Cagayan Valley at 8.0 percent. The lowest inflation was recorded in Zamboanga Peninsula at 0.2 percent. (Marites Villamor-Ilano / SunStar Philippines)