Caraga: The inflation rate for the bottom 30 percent of income households in the Caraga Region decreased to -1.3 percent in June, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) 13 (Caraga) reported Thursday. This marks a significant improvement from the previous month's rate of 0.6 percent, indicating better price conditions for low-income households in the area.

According to Philippines News Agency, the deflation was primarily driven by a decline in the year-over-year growth rate of prices in the food and non-alcoholic beverage group. This category saw a drop to -3.5 percent last month from -2.4 percent in May. A major factor contributing to this trend was a notable reduction in rice prices, which registered an inflation rate of -19.1 percent, down from -16.5 percent in May. The food and non-alcoholic beverages group was responsible for approximately 77.1 percent of the overall inflation decline for low-income households in the region.

Additionally, inflation in the housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels group slowed to 1.8 percent in June 2025, compared to 3.3 percent the previous month. This slowdown was mainly attributed to lower inflation rates for electricity and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which decreased to 1 percent and 4 percent, respectively, from 7 percent and 5.7 percent in May.

Meanwhile, the PSA-13 also reported that the headline inflation rate for all income households in the region last month was 0.4 percent, a slight decrease from 0.6 percent in May. Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels were identified as the main contributors to the overall inflation in the region in June, with a recorded rate of 2.7 percent, lower than the 3.8 percent posted in May. Despite the slowdown, this sector accounted for a substantial 115.6 percent share of the overall inflation, underscoring its significant impact on the region's inflation trend, the PSA-13 stated.