ILOILO CITY – The inflation rate in Western Visayas went up by 0.2 percent from 3.2 percent in November to 3.4 percent in December.
PEOPLE buy goods in a market in Jaro, Iloilo City. (Tara Yap)
“The uptrend in the Western Visayas inflation rate in December 2024 was mainly due to the faster growth of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels,” said Nida Amolar, Philippine Statistics Authority-6 officer-in-charge and chief statistical specialist.
Amolar said the price index rose to 4.7 percent last month from 3.3 percent in November.
The rise in inflation was also attributed to the increase in transportation cost by 1.7 percent, from -0.1 percent in November to 1.8 percent in December.
The province of Aklan has the region’s lowest inflation rate in December at 1.4 percent and for the fourth straight month.
Iloilo City, the regional capital of Western Visayas, recorded the highest inflation rate last December at 5.4 percent, up by 1.9 percent from 3.5 percent in November.
Antique has a 1.5 percent inflation rate, 2.4 percent in Bacolod City, 2.8 percent in Capiz, 2.8 percent in Guimaras, 3.7 percent in Negros Occidental, and 4.2 percent in Iloilo.