PH inflation rate for May 2023 slows down further to 6.1%

MANILA, Philippines — The headline inflation rates for May 2023 slowed down further to 6.1 percent according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), pushing the downtrend to four consecutive months.

Reports from PSA released on Tuesday showed that the figures for May 2023 are 0.5 percentage points lower than April’s 6.6 percent.

READ: Inflation slowed to 6.6%; three-month ‘downtrend’ noted  

The main driver of the lower inflation rates was a decline in costs of transportation, food and non-alcoholic beverages, and restaurants and accommodations.

“Among the 13 commodity groups, the downtrend of the headline inflation in May 2023 was primarily brought about by the annual decline in the index of transport at -0.5 percent from a 2.6 percent annual increase in the previous month. The heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages also pulled down the overall inflation during the month with a lower inflation rate of 7.4 percent from 7.9 percent in April 2023,” PSA said in its report.

“The third main source of deceleration for the May 2023 inflation was restaurants and accommodation services, which registered slower inflation at 8.3 percent from 8.6 percent in the previous month,” it added.

According to PSA, food inflation decreased from 8.0 percent in April 2023 to 7.5 percent in May 2023. Some of the main drivers in terms of food inflation decreasing are fish and other seafood (from 7.0 percent to 5.0 percent); land animals (4.2 percent to 3.2 percent); and milk, other dairy products, and eggs (from 13.0 percent to 12.1 percent).

However, rice prices increased, as the inflation rate for rice was at 3.4 percent in May 2023, up from 2.9 percent in April. Similarly, prices of vegetables increased, from 10.0 percent in April to 12.6 percent in May.

The inflation rate within the National Capital Region (NCR) was also lower, at 6.5 percent in May from 7.1 percent in April; the trend was also similar for areas outside NCR, decreasing from 6.5 percent in April to 6.0 percent in May.

“For the second consecutive month, all regions outside NCR recorded slower inflation rates during the month relative to their April 2023 inflation rates,” PSA said.

“Cordillera Administrative Region remained as the region with the lowest inflation rate for the third consecutive month at 3.9 percent, while MIMAROPA Region recorded the highest inflation rate during the month at 7.2 percent,” it added.

Just last May 31, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas projected that the downtrend in inflation rates would continue, as the lower price of oil products and decrease in livestock prices contributed to lower overall costs.

READ: BSP: Inflation slowed down further in May

je