DAGUPAN CITY: There was a slight increase in the inflation rate in the Ilocos Region (Region 1) from January to February this year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Region 1 office reported in an online forum on Monday, March 11.

Teresa Olarte, PSA supervising statistical specialist, said that the inflation rate jumped from 1.5 percent in January to 2 percent last month. However, it is lower by 6.3 percentage points than the 8.3-percent inflation rate in February 2023.

The inflation rate in the region last month was primarily influenced by the increase in the indices of the following commodity groups: food and nonalcoholic beverages, 6.9 percent; alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 6.4 percent; clothing and footwear, 3.5 percent; health, 1.7 percent; and transport, -0.2 percent.

Olarte said the biggest contributors to the inflation rate of food and nonalcoholic beverages were vegetables, tubers, cooking bananas and pulses, with -12.2 percent inflation, up from -26.1 percent in January 2024.

Also contributory were cereals and cereal products, with 20.7-percent inflation, higher by 0.7 percent from 20.0 percent in January 2024, and meat and others, with 1.9-percent inflation, up from 0.7 percent in January 2024.

Olarte said transport, which grew from -1.8 percent in January to -0.2 percent last month, was the second commodity group that contributed to the higher inflation rate in the region.

This was because, she said, of the slight drop in the prices of diesel fuel and gasoline from January to February.

The third commodity group that caused the higher inflation was clothing and footwear, with a 3.5-percent inflation rate, up from a 3.1-percent inflation rate last month.

On the other hand, a decrease in the indices of the following commodity groups was observed: housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, -7.4 percent; furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 4.0 percent; information and communication, 0.2 percent; recreation, sport and culture, 0.4 percent; restaurants and accommodation services, 0.9 percent; and personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 3.7 percent.

Meanwhile, education and financial services retained their previous month's inflation rate or had zero-percent annual growth.

Among the provinces, La Union posted the highest inflation rate at 2.8 percent in February 2024, followed by Pangasinan and Ilocos Norte at 2.4 percent, and Ilocos Sur with -1.1-percent annual growth.

Compared to their respective levels in February last year, all the provinces recorded lower inflation rates.