The inflation rate in Pampanga went down to 2.4 percent

The inflation rate in Pampanga decreased to 2.4 percent in March 2024, down from 2.5 percent in February 2024. March's inflation rate was 7.8 percentage points lower than the 10.2 percent recorded in March 2023 (Figure 1).

The downtrend of March 2024 inflation in Pampanga was mainly brought about by the lower weighted rate in the index of Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and other Fuels, which recorded a lower inflation rate of -9.0 percent from -3.9 percent in February 2024. Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages was the second top contributor with an inflation rate of 3.2 percent from 3.8 percent in February 2024. The third contributor in the down trend of the March 2024 inflation was the index of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco, which recorded 9.8 percent inflation from 12.0 percent in February 2024.

In addition, lower inflation rate were also observed in the following indices:
•    Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services at 4.3 percent from 5.1 percent in February 2024;
•    Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance at 3.1 percent from 3.3 percent;
•    Recreation, Sport & Culture at 2.7 percent from 3.0 percent;

Meanwhile, higher inflation rates were observed on the following indices:
•    Restaurants and Accommodation Services at 10.7 percent from 1.8 percent;
•    Health from 3.3 to 6.4 percent inflation;
•    Transport Services at 5.7 percent from 3.9 percent; and
•    Clothing and Footwear from 2.3 percent to 3.6 percent in March 2024.

Lastly, the following indices retained their corresponding previous month’s annual increments: 
•    Education Services at 4.8 percent;
•    Financial Services at 0.0 percent; and
•    Information and Communication at 0.2 percent. (Table 1)
 

Monthly Inflation Rate in Pampanga from January 2021 to March 2024

Since January 2021, the months of November 2022, January 2023 and March 2023 were the months with the highest recorded inflation of Pampanga at 10.2 percent. On the other hand, the month of January 2024 was the month with the lowest recorded inflation rate of Pampanga at 2.1 percent since January 2021. (Table 2)

Consumer Price Index

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) of all items in Pampanga as of March 2024 was posted at 129.5 percent. This means that one needs 129.50 pesos to same set of goods and services that were worth 100.00 pesos in 2018. March 2024 CPI was higher Php3.00 than the posted at 126.5 in March 2023. (Table 3).
 

Purchasing Power of Peso
 

Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP) in Pampanga is 0.77 in March 2024. March 2024 PPP was lower by 0.02 than the 0.79 in March 2023. PPP implies that 1.00 peso in 2018 (based year) is now worth 0.77 centavos in March 2024. (Figure 2)

MARIA VIRGINIA R. OLVEÑA
Chief Statistical Specialist 
PSA Pampanga