Pangasinan: Pangasinan’s inflation rate slowed down from 3.8 percent in September to 2.5 percent in October, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Ilocos regional office.

According to Philippines News Agency, PSA Pangasinan supervising statistical specialist Ferdinand Jocutan stated that the decrease was primarily driven by the reduction in the inflation of food and non-alcoholic beverages. Notably, the inflation rate for fish and other seafood commodities fell from 3.8 percent in September to 1.0 percent in October.

Martin Allayban, officer-in-charge of the BFAR Regional Fisheries Training and Fisherfolk Coordination Division, explained that the deceleration in prices for fish and other seafood was due to favorable weather conditions that allowed fisherfolk to set sail. Additionally, the national government’s fuel subsidy program contributed to this trend. He noted that the cost of fuel decreased last month, reducing expenses for the fisherfolk.

Jocutan further highlighted that housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels accounted for 13.7 percent of the province’s inflation downtrend, decreasing from 2.8 percent in September to -1.5 percent in October. Personal care and miscellaneous goods and services also saw a decline from 2.2 percent to 0.7 percent.

Other sectors that experienced lower inflation rates include alcoholic beverages and tobacco, which decreased from 1.4 percent to 1.3 percent; clothing and footwear from 3.7 percent to 2.7 percent; furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance from 1.3 percent to 0.3 percent; transport from 2.6 percent to 2.2 percent; and recreation, sport, and culture from 2.4 percent to 1.6 percent.

However, some commodity groups posted higher inflation rates. The health commodity group increased from 0.2 percent to 0.8 percent, information and communication from -0.1 percent to 0.4 percent, and restaurant and accommodation services from 8.1 percent to 8.4 percent.