Cagayan de Oro City residents faced higher living costs in April as inflation surged to 7.4 percent, sharply higher than the 5.1 percent recorded in March, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority Region-10.
The latest figure also marked a dramatic turnaround from April 2025, when the city posted a -0.4 percent deflation rate.
Transport costs emerged as the biggest driver of inflation, contributing 2.53 percentage points to the overall rate.
Inflation in the transport sector climbed to 28.7 percent in April from 19.7 percent the previous month amid soaring fuel prices across Northern Mindanao.
Read also: Northern Mindanao inflation hits 8.2% in April
Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other utilities followed, contributing 1.88 percentage points after inflation in the sector nearly doubled to 8.2 percent from 4.7 percent in March.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages also pushed prices higher, contributing 1.83 percentage points to the city’s inflation. Food inflation rose to 7.7 percent in April from 4.6 percent in March.
Despite the sharp increase, some sectors posted slower price movements. Inflation for clothing and footwear eased slightly to 1.5 percent, while alcoholic beverages and tobacco dipped to 8.0 percent.
Meanwhile, inflation rates for health, education services, and financial services remained unchanged.
The April figure continued the city’s steady inflation climb this year, from just 0.9 percent in January. Average inflation in Cagayan de Oro from January to April stood at 3.8 percent.
While lower than Northern Mindanao’s regional inflation rate of 8.2 percent, Cagayan de Oro’s 7.4 percent remained slightly above the national inflation rate of 7.2 percent.
