Cordillera inflation slows in June on lower gas prices

Workers load vegetables onto a truck in Benguet. — Photo by Vincent Cabreza BAGUIO CITY — Inflation in the summer capital and the rest of mountainous Cordillera again slowed down in June, sustaining a substantial drop in inflation back in May, due to the gradual decline in gas prices when a ceasefire and peace talks between the United States and Iran were still in place, the region’s chief statistician reported at a Friday (July 17) economic briefing. Baguio inflation grew more slowly at 6.7 percent last month from 7 percent in May, while the Cordillera provinces of Benguet, Ifugao, Abra, Apayao, Kalinga and Mountain Province and this mountain city combined recorded a 6.5 percent inflation rate in June, down from 6.8 percent in May, said Aldrin Federico Bahit Jr, Cordillera senior statistician of the Philippine Statistics Authority. The May inflation rate climbed down from a high 7.6 percent inflation rate in April. Article continues after this advertisement READ: Cordillera inflation in May slows down to 6.8 percent The primary drivers of a slowed down inflation in the summer capital were transport and food because diesel inflation rapidly declined to 25.8 percent rate in June from 46.7 percent rate in May, and as well as a similarly sharp drop for gasoline inflation to 38.5 percent last month following a high 47.9 percent rate in May. Baguio typically has the more expensive costs for gas and diesel in the region despite its proximity to La Union fuel depots which is about an hour’s drive. Many local economists are monitoring how renewed fighting in the now five-month long war on Iran would impact July inflation and the Cordillera economy. Baguio is a tourist destination and an educational and business hub in this part of Luzon which relies heavily on travellers. Meanwhile, Benguet supplies 80 percent of the salad vegetable requirements of Manila and other provinces that need to be shipped down each day. Article continues after this advertisement READ: Cordillera braces for worst as fuel shocks hike inflation Throughout the Cordillera, declining fuel costs also brought inflation down. Diesel inflation for the mountain region dropped to 33.4 percent in June from a high of 53.4 percent in May. Gas inflation for the Cordillera was 40.3 percent last month from 49 percent in May. LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), which most households use, had an inflation rate of 41.8 percent in June from 50.9 percent in May. Article continues after this advertisement Because June was also the start of the school year, PSA observed the slight rise in the costs of rice (7.5 percent inflation rate in June from 6.6 percent in May), while reflecting a general downgrade in costs covering rent and utilities (9.5 percent in June from 9.7 percent in May) and sustained inflation for clothing and footwear (2.1 percent in June from 2.1 percent in May). Inflation for fish like bangus (milkfish) which is imported from coastline provinces like Pangasinan slid down to a rate of 88 percent in June from 9.4 percent in May. Vegetables like squash caused inflation for this sector to climb to 5.4 percent in June from 3.4 percent in May. The cost of alcoholic beverages and tobacco grew to 6.9 percent in June from 6.3 percent in May, coinciding with the rise in inflation for restaurants and accommodation services associated with tourism to 8.3 percent in June from 8 percent in May. Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful. Ifugao, home of the world heritage-enshrined rice terraces, reflected the lowest inflation (3.7 percent in June from 4.2 percent in May) among Cordillera provinces. Apayao, one of the country’s biosphere reserves, had the highest inflation in the Cordillera with a 15 percent rate in June from 14.5 in May. /das