Caraga inflation soars to 5.5% in March

BUTUAN CITY – The inflation rate in the Caraga Region climbed to 5.5 percent in March from 3.6 percent in February.

In the report obtained on Saturday, the Philippine Statistics Authority-13 said the increase was driven by the transport commodity group that posted an overall inflation share of 52.3 percent last month, or from 0.8 percent in February to 11.9 percent in March. 

The surge was driven by the increased inflation of gasoline, which posted 27.8 percent in March compared to -4.4 percent in February, and diesel, which logged a 59.9 percent inflation last month from 0.5 percent in February.

The second contributor to Caraga’s high inflation last month was food and non-alcoholic beverages, which posted an overall share of 40.6 percent, or 4.2 percent from 2.4 percent in February.

The inflation in rice from -1.8 percent in February to 5.3 percent in March was the main factor in the commodity sector’s high inflation; followed by eggplant with 24.0 percent in March from -2.7 percent in February; and pumpkins, squash and gourds with 24.0 percent last month from 10.7 percent in February.

The housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels commodity group also contributed to last month’s high inflation in the region with an overall share of 5.8 percent, or 7.8 percent in March from 7.1 percent in February.

Among the provinces, Dinagat Islands posted the highest inflation last month with 7.7 percent compared to 4.5 percent in February, while Agusan del Sur logged the lowest inflation with 4.5 percent from 3.1 percent in February.

The recorded inflation rates in other areas in the region are Agusan del Norte, 6.7 percent from 5.2 percent; Surigao del Sur, 4.6 percent from 2.1 percent; Surigao del Norte, 5.3 percent from 3.2 percent; and Butuan City, 7.3 percent from 5.4 percent. (PNA)