MARAWI CITY (PIA) -- The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in Lanao del Sur announced that the province experienced a 4.5 percent headline inflation rate in March 2024, up from the 2.9 percent recorded in the previous month.
Driving this acceleration were significant increases in pivotal key sectors, specifically Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, which surged to 6.9 percent from 4.6 percent; Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels to -2.3 percent from -3.7 percent; and Transport from -2.9 percent to 0.5 percent.
In the food sector, inflation continued its upward trajectory, reaching 7.0 percent from 4.6 percent in the previous month. The surge was primarily fueled by increases in the indices for vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses; cereals and cereal products; and meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals.
Further contributing to the overall inflation were higher annual increments in indices across various commodity groups such as Information and Communication, Education Services at 0.6 percent; Clothing and Footwear at 4.7 percent; Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco at 3.2 percent; Recreation, Sports, and Culture at 4.0 percent; Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance of the House at 2.7 percent; Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services at 3.4 percent; and Health at 1.8 percent.
