Lanao del Norte’s Consumer Price Index posted at 119.5 for the month of March which implies that the price of one basket of goods was 19.5 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 March 2022 & 2023 with 2018 as the base year.

Among the commodity groups, Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco registered the highest CPI in March 2023 at 150.9 followed by Financial Services at 146.0 and Transport at 129.5. On the other hand, Clothing and Footwear at 116.2, Education Services at 106.0 and Information and Communication at 101.8 were the bottom three with the lowest CPI posted in the month of March 2023 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 March 2022 and March 2023. The inflation rate of the province of Lanao del Norte is at 6.1 percent, higher than its average retail price in March 2022.

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 P0.84 for the month of March 2023. 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-four centavos (P0.84).

Figure 4 below shows the year-on-year purchasing power of peso of the province from March 2022 and 2023.

The province of Lanao del Norte had remained its purchasing power of peso declining at 0.84 centavos for the month of March 2023. 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