Inflation rates for both all income and bottom 30 percent households in Negros Occidental decelerated in March, mainly due to the lower prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.

Among all income households, headline inflation slowed to zero percent in March, from 0.3 percent in February.

Last month’s inflation rate was also lower than the 2.8 percent posted in March 2025.

In its report, PSA-Negros Occidental said a downtrend in inflation for all income households was primarily brought about by the lower year-on-year growth rate in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages index, which was at -3.1 percent in March, from zero percent in February.

For the bottom 30 percent income households, inflation decreased to -1.4 percent in March, from -0.1 percent in February.

The inflation rate in March last year was recorded at 3.2 percent.

Similarly, the downtrend was mainly caused by the lower year-on-year growth rate in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages index at -4 percent in March, from -0.3 percent in February.

On the other hand, the highly urbanized Bacolod City’s inflation rate for all income households accelerated to 3.4 percent in March, from 0.1 percent in February, while for the bottom 30 percent income households, inflation rate also increased to 1.9 percent in March, from -0.5 percent in February.

In an interview, PSA-Negros Occidental supervising statistical specialist Diesah Biaoco said that in the province, the main driver of food deflation was the prices of cereals and other agricultural products.

“The contribution of food was higher compared to other commodity groups,” she added.

Biaoco pointed out that in Bacolod City, transport is the main contributor to inflation, noting the abrupt increase in fuel prices around the second week of March.

“Since it is a highly urbanized city, the cost in the demand of utilities and transport or logistics also increased,” she said. (PNA)