QUEZON CITY, (PIA) -- From 7.6 in March of this year, the country’s inflation went down to 6.6 percent in April. This is confirmed by National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.

According to PSA, the downward trend of inflation in April was mainly because of the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages which recorded an inflation rate of 7.9 percent. This is lower than its previously recorded inflation rate of 9.3 percent in March.

The second top contributor is the transport sector with an inflation rate of 2.6 percent, which is down from 5.3 percent in March of the same year.

The third contributor to the headline inflation’s slowdown in April was housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels. These sectors recorded a 6.5 percent inflation rate which used to be 7.6 percent in March.

Other commodity groups, meanwhile, recorded higher inflation rates in April such as alcoholic beverages and tobacco (12.7% from 12.2%); clothing and footwear (5.1% from 5.0%); health (4.1% from 3.9%); recreation, sports, and culture (4.7% from 4.6%); restaurants and accommodation service (8.6% from 8.3%); and personal care and miscellaneous goods and services (5.7% from 5.6%).

“Inflation of accommodation and food services increased owing to stronger demand amid higher tourist arrivals,” Balisacan explained.

In the National Capital Region, inflation also went down to 7.1 percent in April from its previous rate of 7.8 in March 2023. NCR’s lower inflation rate is caused primarily by the slower annual increase in housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels’ 6.8 percent in April from 7.9 percent in March.

Another contributor to the downward trend of inflation in NCR was food and non-alcoholic beverages which recorded 8.3 percent from the previous month’s 9.3 percent.

The third contributor is transport with an annual increment of 4.3 percent in April 2023 from March’s 6.2 percent. Additionally, the furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance index also achieved a lower annual increment of 6.1 percent in April 2023 compared to its previous recorded rate of 6.4 percent in March 2023.

On April 2023, in NCR, higher annual increments were observed in the following commodity groups: health (2.4% from 2.2%); recreation, sports, and culture (3.6% from 3.5%); restaurants and accommodation services (11.4% from 11.0%; and personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services (3.6% from 3.3%).

Meanwhile, the annual rates in the indices of the rest of the commodity group remained at their respective previous month’s rates, according to PSA. (ARB, PIA-CPSD)