Eastern visayas: Eastern Visayas posted an 8.4-percent inflation rate last month, the second highest price adjustment logged by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in nearly a decade.

According to Philippines News Agency, the PSA reported on Tuesday that the August 2026 uptrend was higher than the 8.3 percent inflation rate recorded in July 2026, and higher than the national inflation rate of 6.1 percent last month. This rise was primarily driven by higher inflation rates in housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels at 10.3 percent during the month, up from 9.6 percent in July 2026.

Another significant contributor was the 10.6-percent increase in restaurants and accommodation services in August, compared to 9.5 percent a month earlier. Transport costs also rose by 17.2 percent in August 2026, up from 16.6 percent in July 2026, contributing to the regional inflation rate's uptrend, as stated by PSA Eastern Visayas Regional Director Wilma Perante in a statement on Tuesday.

Two of the region's six provinces recorded higher inflation rates last month. Northern Samar saw a 9.8 percent inflation rate in August, up from 8.5 percent the previous month, while Leyte experienced an increase to 6.9 percent from 6.3 percent. Among the provinces, Samar had the highest rate at 12.7 percent, though this was lower than the 13.3 percent recorded the previous month. Biliran's inflation rate was the second highest at 11.8 percent in August, slightly lower than the 12 percent in July.

Southern Leyte logged an 8.1 percent inflation rate in August, down from the 8.5 percent recorded in July. Eastern Samar's inflation rate also decreased to 7.6 percent in August from 8.2 percent in July. Meanwhile, Tacloban, the lone highly urbanized city in the region, recorded a decrease in its inflation rate to 3.8 percent during the month, lower than its 4.1 percent inflation rate the previous month.

The August 2026 rate is the second highest recorded by the PSA since 2018, with the highest being logged in April 2026 at 8.5 percent. The inflation rate measures the annual rate of change or the year-on-year changes in the consumer price index, indicating how fast or slow price changes occur over two times, year-on-year. Contrary to common knowledge, the PSA explained that low inflation does not necessarily mean decreasing commodity prices; instead, it indicates that prices continue to increase but at a slower rate.