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

Inflation rate in Samar accelerated to 5.5 percent in June 2024

Inflation rate in Samar accelerated to 5.5 percent in June 2024, up from 3.8 percent in May. (Figure 1)    
 

Compared with its previous year’s value, the inflation rate in June is lower by 2.0 percentage points. Moreover, the provincial year-to-date rate from January to June 2024 was registered at 4.8 percent. (Table 1)

The movement of price increases in Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages and Restaurants and Accommodation Services commodity groups contributed significantly to this uptrend. Inflation rates in both commodity groups grew to 9.8 and 4.3 percent, respectively, in June 2024.

Five other commodity groups also recorded upward trends. These are: 

1. Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco from 4.3 to 4.6 percent;

2. Health from 5.3 to 6.0 percent; 

3. Recreation, Sport, and Culture from 1.8 to 2.1 percent;

4. Information and Communication from 0.2 to 0.4 percent; and

5. Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and other Fuels from negative 4.5 percent to negative 2.1 percent. (Figure 2)

The commodity groups with declining trend in inflation rates include: 1) Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services with 2.2 percent; 2) Transport with 1.5 percent; and 3) Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance with 4.0 percent.

Samar recorded highest inflation rate in Eastern Visayas 

Samar’s June inflation rate of 5.5 percent is also the highest among provinces in Eastern Visayas. Biliran, Southern Leyte, and Leyte provinces followed with 4.9, 4.4 and 3.9 percent inflation rates, respectively. The province of Northern Samar registered the lowest with 2.7 percent. Meanwhile, price movements of commodities in Tacloban City settled at 3.6 percent, contributing to an overall inflation rate in the region of 4.0 percent. (Figure 3)

Purchasing Power of the Peso decreased to Php 0.77 in June 2024 

The purchasing power of the peso decreased to Php 0.77 after the two-month value of Php 0.78 in April to May 2024. This implies that a peso in 2018 is worth 77 centavos in June 2024. (Figure 4)

June CPI for All Items increases to 129.5

Samar’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) for All Items increased from 128.7 in May to 129.5 in June. This means that a typical household needs an average of PhP 129.5 to buy the same basket of goods and services in June 2024. There was an increasing trend from the previous months as reflected from the 6.8-point gap between June 2023 and the same month in 2024. (Figure 5)

APPENDIX

TECHNICAL NOTES

Consumer Price Index (CPI)  
An indicator of the changes in the average retail prices of a fixed market basket of goods and services commonly purchased by households relative to a base year.

Uses of CPI  
The CPI is most widely used in the calculation of the inflation rate and purchasing power of peso. It is a major statistical series used for economic analysis and as a monitoring indicator of government economic policy.

Base Period/Year  
The reference date or base period is the benchmark or reference date or period at which the index is taken as equal to 100. The current base period is 2018.

Market Basket  
A sample of goods and services purchased for consumption availed by the households in the country selected to represent the composite price behavior of all goods and services purchased by consumers.

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.

Formula  
The formula used in computing the CPI is the weighted arithmetic mean of price relatives, the Laspeyre’s formula with a fixed base year period (2018) weights.

Geographic Coverage  
CPI values are computed at the national, regional, and provincial levels, and for selected cities.

Inflation Rate is the rate of change of the CPI expressed in percent. Inflation is interpreted in terms of the declining purchasing power of peso.

Purchasing Power of Peso 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.

For inquiries and additional information,   
please write, call, or visit:  
 

PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY 

Samar Provincial Statistical Office 
Cinco Building, San Roque Street  
    Barangay 10, City of Catbalogan, Samar 6700  
Telefax No.: (055) 832-6557  
Email: westernsamar@psa.gov.ph