Inflation drops in La Union, Bicol, Bacolod, Negros Occidental, Western Visayas

The inflation rate in La Union province dropped to 1.4% in June from 1.7% in May, primarily due to a decline in food and non-alcoholic beverage prices; meanwhile, the Bicol region experienced a slowdown with its inflation rate decreasing from 2.2% in May to 1.5% in June, while Bacolod City saw its rate drop to 0.5% from 2.4%, and Negros Occidental's rate decreased to 1.2% from 2.4%; Western Visayas also recorded a slowdown with an inflation rate of 0.6% in June from 1.5% in May

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed significantly to both decreases in La Union, with a drop of 53.7%; however, vegetables, tubers, cereals, fish, and seafood prices decreased in Bicol; housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels also contributed to the decline in Bacolod City by -4.7% and food and non-alcoholic beverages registered zero percent inflation in Negros Occidental; Western Visayas saw a decrease of 0.5% for food and non-alcoholic beverages and a significant drop in housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels from 4.7% to 1.0%

Fish prices decreased in La Union but increased from 19.4% to 23.2% in Pangasinan due to higher feed and fuel costs; meanwhile, electricity prices decreased slightly in Bacolod City by -18.4%, while food logged only -1.4% inflation in June compared to 1.0% in May

Joanna Tabelon of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources noted that local fish supplies are stable in La Union, but price increases in Pangasinan were driven by higher feed and fuel prices for aquaculture; PSA officer Diesah Biaoco advised consumers to plan their purchases well due to potential future fluctuations