TACLOBAN CITY — Poor families in Eastern Visayas experienced temporary relief from rising prices of goods and services in January, with the inflation rate for the bottom 30 percent income bracket hitting only 0.6 percent — the lowest among regions in the country.

Philippine Statistics Authority Eastern Visayas regional director Wilma Perante on Wednesday narrated that the 0.6 percent inflation rate for this income group is the lowest in five years since the same rate recorded in April 2020.

The 0.6 percent inflation rate for the bottom 30 percent income households is four times lower than the 2.4 percent national average.

Perante said the deceleration of the regional inflation for the bottom 30 percent income households in January 2025 was due to a slower inflation rate in the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages commodity group, recorded at 0.2 percent, down from 1.7 percent in December 2024.

For all income brackets, Eastern Visayas recorded an inflation rate of 1.3 percent, the second lowest among regions, after SOCCSKSARGEN, which recorded a 1.1 percent inflation rate. The national average inflation rate in January was 2.9 percent.