ILOILO CITY – The inflation rate in Western Visayas dropped 0.9 percent from 3.6 percent in January to 2.7 percent in February.

A BUSY wet market in Iloilo City. Inflation or the rise in the price of goods and services over time dropped in Western Visayas last February. (Tara Yap)
“The downtrend in the Western Visayas inflation rate in February was mainly due to the slower annual growth in the index of food and non-alcoholic beverages,” said Nida Amolar, Philippine Statistics Authority-6 officer-in-charge and chief statistical specialist, on Friday, March 7.
Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages dropped by one percent from 3.4 percent in January to 2.4 percent in February.
The downward inflation was also attributed to the slowdown in the index prices of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels from 3.6 percent in January to 2.9 percent in February.
Iloilo has the highest inflation rate in the region at 4.5 percent in February.
Iloilo City, the regional capital of Western Visayas, recorded a 3.7 percent inflation rate. The inflation rate of Bacolod City remains at 3.3 percent.
The inflation rate in Capiz was 2.7 percent, two percent in Negros Occidental province, 1.4 percent in Aklan province, 0.6 percent in Guimaras province, and zero percent in Antique province.