Consumer Price Index

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) of Ilocos Region in October 2020  was posted at 122.9. This means that on average, prices of goods  and services in the region have increased by 22.9 percent from the base year 2012.    

The region’s CPI was recorded at 119.7 in October 2019 and 122.5  in September 2020.    

By Province

Among the provinces, Ilocos Norte posted the highest price index  in October 2020 at 126.6, followed by Pangasinan at 125.2,  and Ilocos Sur at 119.1. Meanwhile, La Union recorded the lowest price index at 114.9 in the same period. 

Similarly, in October 2019, Ilocos Norte recorded the highest price index at 122.8, followed by Pangasinan at 121.4, Ilocos Sur at 116.8,  and La Union at 113.5. (see Figure 2)

By commodity Group 

The top three commodity groups that recorded high price indices  in the region in October 2020 were: alcoholic beverages and tobacco (216.8); food and non-alcoholic beverages (131.0); and furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house (124.9).  On the other hand, the bottom three commodity groups with low price indices were: communication (101.7); transport (105.2); and recreation and culture (110.6).

Inflation Rate

Headline inflation in the Ilocos Region settled to 2.7 percent in October 2020. Its annual rate in the previous month was 2.5 percent. A negative inflation rate was recorded in October 2019 at 0.2 percent.  

It can be manifested in Figure 3 that the highest inflation rate in the region  was recorded in February, July, and October 2020, all at 2.7 percent. 

The inflation rate of the region decreased by 0.2 percentage point  from September 2020 to October 2020. The inflation rate in October 2020 is higher by 2.9 percentage points compared to the inflation rate  in October 2019.

By Province

Among the provinces in the region, Ilocos Norte and Pangasinan posted the highest inflation rate both at 3.1 percent in October 2020. This was followed by Ilocos Sur at 2.0 percent. Meanwhile, the lowest inflation rate was observed in La Union at 1.2 percent.

Only Pangasinan posted an increase in the inflation rate from September 2020 to October 2020. Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and La Union recorded  decreases in the inflation rate in the same period. Ilocos Sur registered  the highest decrease in the inflation rate with one percentage point  from 3.0 percent in September 2020 to 2.0 percent in October 2020.

By Commodity Group

By commodity group, alcoholic beverages and tobacco recorded  the highest inflation rate in Ilocos Norte, La Union and Pangasinan.  In Ilocos Sur, the highest inflation rate was registered in the transport commodity. Meanwhile, transport commodities recorded the lowest inflation rate in Ilocos Norte. Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels posted the lowest inflation rate in Ilocos Sur and La Union, while recreation and culture in Pangasinan

Purchasing Power of Peso

The Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP) in the Ilocos Region was posted at PhP0.81 in October 2020.  This means that the purchasing capability of PhP1.00 in 2012 decreased by 19 centavos in October 2020.     

Among the provinces, La Union posted the highest PPP in October 2020  with PhP0.87. This was followed by Ilocos Sur with Php0.84 PPP.  Pangasinan registered a PPP of PhP0.80 while the least was recorded  in Ilocos Norte with PhP0.79. 

It can be gleaned in Figure 5 that PPPs in all the provinces went down from October 2019 to October 2020. Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur,  and Pangasinan posted the highest decrease at PhP0.02 PPP  while La Union recorded a decrease of PhP0.01 PPP.