Lanao del Norte’s Consumer Price Index posted at 117.4 for the month of December which imply that the price of one basket of goods was 17.4 higher than the price of goods in year 2018.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) is used as an indicator to measure the changes in the average retail prices of one basket of goods and services over time that consumers commonly pay. Figure 1 shows the Consumer Price Index in the province for the period of December 2021 & 2022 with 2018 as the base year.

Among the commodity groups, Financial Services registered the highest CPI in December 2022 at 146.0 followed by Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco at 140.0 and Transport at 135.6. On the other hand, Clothing and Footwear at 112.3, Education Services at 106.0 and Information and Communication at 100.9 were the bottom three with the lowest CPI posted in the month of December 2022 as shown in figure 2.

INFLATION RATE

Inflation rate refers to the percent change in the average prices of goods and services in which most cases purchased by consumers compared to prices a year ago. Figure 3 below displays the Inflation rate for all items in the province from December 2021 and December 2022. The inflation rate of the province of Lanao del Norte is at 6.0 percent, higher than its average retail price in December 2021.

Inflation occurs mostly when goods and services are in high-demand giving a rise to a drop-in availability in the market. This may be caused by any reason like natural phenomenon and/or man-made calamities.

PURCHASING POWER OF PESO (PPP)

The Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP) shows how much the currency of peso is worth in the current period basing the year 2018. The PPP in the province of Lanao del Norte is at P0.85 for the month of December 2022. This value means that the goods and services that are worth one peso (P1.00) in the year 2018, the current value of it decreases into Eighty-five centavos (P0.85).

Figure 4 below shows the year-on-year purchasing power of peso of the province from December 2021 and 2022.

The province of Lanao del Norte had remained its purchasing power of peso declining at 0.85 centavos for the month of December 2022. This also imply that the consumers in the province had to increase their usual costs in order to attain the same quality of living from year 2018.

Purchasing power have a great impact to different aspects of the economy. A massive decrease in purchasing power caused by excessive inflation may lead to an economic crisis.

OSLER M. MEJARES

Chief Statistical Specialist