Butuan city: Inflation in the Caraga Region surged to 8.9 percent in August, an increase from 8.6 percent in July, as reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA-13) on Friday.

According to Philippines News Agency, the figure is significantly higher than the 0.6 percent recorded in the same month last year. PSA-13 Regional Director Guillermo Lipio Jr. highlighted that the region's average inflation from January to August stands at 7.3 percent. The primary factor driving last month's inflation acceleration is the transport sector, which posted an 18.4 percent inflation rate compared to 16.5 percent in July.

Lipio explained that the significant contributors to the high transport inflation include fuels and lubricants, which registered a 42.2 percent inflation rate last month compared to 35.6 percent in July, and passenger transport by road, which rose to 21.5 percent from 20.6 percent. Additionally, food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed to the inflation increase, with rates rising to 9.3 percent from 9.0 percent.

Cereals and cereal products saw an inflation rate of 22.4 percent, up from 20.7 percent. Milk, other dairy products, and eggs recorded a slight increase to 0.2 percent from -0.3 percent, while fruits and nuts improved to -0.8 percent from -1.5 percent. The third major contributor to inflation was furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance, which saw a substantial rise to 10.8 percent from 6.8 percent.

Among the provinces, Agusan del Norte experienced the highest inflation in August at 12.0 percent, a slight increase from 11.9 percent. Butuan City and Surigao del Norte reported the lowest rates at 7.8 percent, down from 8.1 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively. Agusan del Sur recorded a decrease to 7.4 percent from 8.4 percent, Surigao del Sur saw a slight rise to 9.4 percent from 9.3 percent, and Dinagat Islands eased to 8.7 percent from 9.4 percent.