Speaking from my own experience here in UK, there is a noticeable rise in the price of certain goods due to shortages and late availability from source's abroad. Example: timber for contruction is in short supply and the price depends on availability at the time of ordering. Needless to say some manufacturers and suppliers will take full advantage of the situation. I purchased 10 boards of OSB sheets six weeks ago, the price has nearly doubled since at todays prices! Food prices are creeping up and so is the price of housing. How has the pandemic effected everyday living costs in Philippines? What if any, commodities have you notice are starting to rise in P.I., and has the current exchange rate against the dollar seen a rise in the price of things? A friend and his wife have recently moved to Philippines permanently and not having had contact since, I wonder if it's living up to their expectations.
It is hard to make comparisons because some causes of inflation apply worldwide, while others are country specific. The UK suffers from constraints on labour and other Brexit effects (higher costs to import stuff), The Philippines suffers from substantially lower financial transfers from abroad because many OFW's (overseas filipino workers) have chosen to go home in the face of the pandemic, which has put downward pressure on their currency, causing more expensive imports, and worldwide there's two effects at work: a. a strong rebound of economic activity causing strong demand for raw materials and b. transport constraints because of the ongoing pandemic. Nevertheless the Philippines currently suffer increases in fuel/energy costs like everyone else (which has an upward effect on almost all other prices also). The size of these price increases is exacerbated here because of the weak currency. Headline inflation here is (and has been for the past 5 years or so) substantially higher than in most of Europe at 4% p.a. or so. Mind you though, the inflation numbers here (like everywhere else) reflect the average buying habits of the public, which means that those who buy much more imported goods than most (think Expats) experience much stronger price rises than the average Filipino family. Of course, as long as these expats enjoy an income in a currency other than the Philipine peso, they also enjoy a (for them) better exchange rate, which partially cancels out the higher prices in peso.
I haven't really paid much attention to local prices. Couldn't even tell you the current price of fuel even though I filled up a couple days ago. Things cost what they cost and unless the bill at the checkout counter is noticeably higher I generally won't check what individual item prices are. Inflation is just something to be expected. One thing I have noticed going up is electricity prices. However, this cost is offset by the money saved from not going out nearly as much. I used to go out to eat and drink several times per week now it is maybe once per week. My monthly living budget has been noticably lower since the start of this pandemic. Noticed that shipping costs on lazada have went down for my location. So there's a positive.
