YEAR-ON-YEAR INFLATION RATES

The inflation or the annual rate of change on the prices of goods and services in the market basket for the bottom 30% income households or the low-income group in General Santos City declined to 2.0 percent in October 2024 from last month’s inflation at 2.8 percent. This was lower than the regional and national levels at 3.1 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively. Moreover, the rate was lower by 3.2 percentage points from a year ago of the same month at 5.2 percent. The average inflation or the year-to-date inflation of the city was recorded at 4.0 percent.

The downtrend in the city’s inflation for the bottom 30% income households for the month of October 2024 was housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels with -1.5 percent inflation from 1.3 percent which contributed 46.6 percent to the downtrend. This was followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages with 4.5 percent in October 2024 from 5.2 percent in the previous month. Also, personal care and miscellaneous goods and services contributed to the downtrend with 1.5 percent inflation during the month from 3.1 percent in September 2024.

In addition, the following commodity groups also showed a downtrend inflation for the bottom 30% income households during the month:

a)    Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 2.2 percent from 2.6 percent;
b)    Clothing and footwear, 1.1 percent from 1.7 percent;
c)    Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 0.2 percent from 0.7            percent;
d)    Health, 0.1 percent from 0.3 percent;
e)    Information and communication, 0.0 percent from 0.1 percent; 
f)    Recreation, sport and culture, 3.1 percent from 5.3 percent; and
g)    Restaurants and accommodation services, 0.0 percent from 0.5 percent. (Table B)

Furthermore, the following commodity groups maintained their previous month’s inflation rates:

a)    Education services, at 8.6 percent; and 
b)    Financial services, at 0.0 percent. (Table B) 

The major contributor to the downtrend inflation of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels was electricity with -10.0 percent in October 2024 from 5.0 percent in the previous month with 97.0 percent share. This was followed by gas with 4.1 percent in October 2024 from 8.9 percent inflation in September 2024 and security equipment and materials for the maintenance and repair of the dwelling with 0.4 percent during the month from 0.5 percent in the previous month. (Table C)
 

Meanwhile, General Santos City’s food inflation for the bottom 30% income households decreased to 4.7 percent in October 2024 from 5.4 percent in September 2024. The deceleration of food inflation for the bottom 30% income households in October 2024 was due to the lower annual increment in the index of rice with 5.4 percent inflation from 7.8 percent in the previous month. This was followed by meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals with 1.5 percent in October 2024 from 5.4 percent in the previous month. Lower annual increment was also noted for milk, other dairy products and eggs at 4.7 percent during the month from 6.2 percent in September 2024.

Also, downtrend inflation was observed in the following indeces during the month:

a)    Flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals, 2.4 percent from 2.6        percent;
b)    Oil and fats with, -1.7 percent from -1.6 percent; and
c)    Sugar, confectionery and desserts, -6.2 percent from -5.8 percent. (Table D)

In contrast, increased annual growth rates during the month were recorded in the indices of the following:

a)    Corn, 3.3 percent from 2.0 percent;
b)    Fish and other seafood, 11.0 percent from 9.4 percent
c)    Fruits and nuts, 18.6 percent from 14.8 percent; and
d)    Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses, -5.7 percent from -8.5 percent.   (Table D)