Highlights of the Price Situation in Samar Province
December 2023-2024
(2018=100)
 

Reference No.: 202501-0860-001                                                       

Release Date: 24 January 2025

Samar’s Inflation rate slows to 0.8% in December 2024

Samar’s inflation rate decelerated from 2.0 percent in November 2024 to 0.8 percent in December 2024, exhibiting a decrease of 5.8 percentage points compared to December 2023. Year-to-date, the province’s inflation rate stands at 3.4 percent, which is 0.3 percentage points higher than the regional average (see Table 1).

The downward trend in the province’s inflation was primarily driven by a slower increase in major commodity groups such as Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels, which saw a negative 0.8 percent change in December 2024, compared to a 4.7 percent annual decrease in November. Additionally, slower inflation in other major commodity groups contributed to the overall decline: Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages dropped from 2.1 percent to 0.6 percent; Health decreased  from 3.7 percent to 2.9 percent; Furnishings, Household Equipment, and Routine Household Maintenance went from 0.9 percent to 0.7 percent; Recreation, Sport, and Culture eased from 1.7 percent to 1.6 percent; and Personal Care and Miscellaneous Goods decreased from 1.4 percent in November 2024 to 1.3 percent in December 2024.      (See Figure 2)  

In contrast, six commodities registered no change in inflation rates in December 2024: Education Services at 7.7 percent; Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco at 3.3 percent; Restaurants and Accommodation Services at 1.0 percent; Clothing and Footwear at 0.8 percent; Information and Communication, 0.2 percent; Financial Services at  0.0 percent.
 

On the other hand, Transport was the only commodity to show an increase in inflation, rising from a negative 1.3 percent to 3.3 percent in December 2024.

Top Three Main Contributors to Samar Inflation
The following commodity groups were the top three contributors to Samar’s inflation in December 2024: Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, with a 39.2 percent share; Transport, with 28.3 percent share; and Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco with an 11.4 percent share.
 

Food Inflation
Inflation rate for Food in Samar decelerated to 0.4 in December, down from 2.1 percent in the previous month. In December of the previous year, Food inflation was recorded at 11.5 percent. (Table D)

Main Drivers of the Downward Trend of Food Inflation
The decline in Food inflation in December 2024 was mainly due to the slower inflation rate in Cereals and Cereal Products, which fell to negative 3.9 percent in December 2024 from 0.9 percent in the previous month.  Additionally, there was a deceleration in Fruits and Nuts , with a negative 7.5 percent, and a slower decrease in Sugar, Confectionery and Desserts (ND), which saw a negative 4.5 percent compared to a negative 4.9 decrease in November 2024. Furthermore, Milk, other Dairy Products and Eggs (0.4%); Fish and other Seafood (3.4%) contributed to the downward trend in the province’s Food inflation.
Meanwhile, the following groups saw an acceleration in their inflation rates in December 2024 compared to the previous month: a) Oils and Fats, from negative 1.8 percent to negative 0.8 percent; (b) Ready-made food and other Food Products n.e.c., rising from 4.0 percent to 4.6 percent; (c) Meat and other parts of Slaughtered Land Animals (ND), increasing from negative 0.7 percent to 2.1 percent; (d) Vegetables, Tubers, Plantains, Cooking Bananas, and Pulses (ND), jumping from 5.4 percent to 13.1 percent. (See Figure 3)

Consumer Price Index
In December 2024, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was recorded at 131.1, reflecting a 31.1 percent increase in the overall basket of items since 2018, the base period. This also represents a rise of 1.1 percentage points compared to the same month last year. (Figure 4) 

Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP) decreased at PhP 0.76 in December 2024
The Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP) in Samar dropped at 76 centavos. This indicates that a peso in 2018 has a value of 76 centavos in December 2024. (Figure 5)

ANNEXES
Table 2. Consumer Price Index and Inflation Rate for All Income 
Households in Samar, By Commodity
November 2024 – December 2024
(2018=100)

TECHNICAL NOTES

Base Period – it is a reference period, usually a year, at which the index number is set to 100. It is the reference point of the index number series.
Consumer Price Index – is an indicator of the change in the average retail prices of a fixed basket of goods and services commonly purchased by an average Filipino household. It shows how much on the average, prices of goods and services have increased or decreased from a particular reference period known as base year. The formula used in computing the CPI is the weighted arithmetic mean of price relatives, a variant of the Laspeyres formula with fixed base year period weights as shown below:

Headline Inflation – measures changes in the cost of living based on movements in the prices of a specified basket of major commodities. It refers to the annual rate of change or the year-on-year changes in the CPI.
Inflation Rate – refers to the annual rate of change or the year-on-year change of the CPI expressed in percent. Inflation is interpreted in terms of declining purchasing power of money. Inflation rate is computed as:

Market Basket – For CPI purposes, market basket is a term used to refer to a sample of goods and services that are commonly purchased an bought by an average Filipino household.

Price – the amount or value paid in exchange for the commodity or a service rendered.
Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP) – shows how much the peso in the base period is worth in the current period. It is computed as the reciprocal of the CPI for the period under review multiplied by 100.

Retail/Consumer Price – refers to the price at which a commodity is sold in small quantities for consumption.
Unit of Measure – refers to which a commodity is customarily traded in the market. The unit of measure is used as the basis for pricing for consistency and to prevent misunderstanding between the price collector and the respondent.
Weight – a value attached to a commodity or group of commodities to indicate the relative importance of that commodity or group of commodities in the market basket.