ILOILO CITY – Western Visayas, just a month after registering the lowest inflation rate in five years, recorded a 2.7 percent inflation rate, up 0.7 percent from two percent in January.

FRESH fish are sold in a stall at Iloilo Fish Port in Iloilo City. (Tara Yap)
Nelida Amolar, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)-6 officer-in-charge and chief statistical specialist, said that the commodity groups of food and non-alcoholic beverages as well as restaurants and accommodation services were the top contributors in the increase in inflation rate.
Other factors were prices of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels; transport, and information and communication.
All areas of Western Visayas logged a higher inflation rate last month.
Guimaras had the highest with 5.9 percent, followed by Antique with 5.5 percent, 3.5 percent in Aklan, 3.2 percent in Capiz, 3.1 percent in Bacolod City, 2.3 percent in Negros Occidental, and 2.1 percent in Iloilo.
Iloilo City, the regional capital, had the lowest with 0.4 percent.
Inflation is the rate of increase in prices of basic goods and services.