Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Prior to the implementation of President Donald Trump’s tariff packages, American Samoa's inflation rate for the first quarter of 2025 is at 1.3%, which reflects a slight increase from last quarter of 2024’s rate of 0.9%. And while airfares to Honolulu have gone down, airfares to Manu’a and Apia are up.

ANNUAL GROUP MOVEMENTS

The Transportation Group is once again the leading expenditure group this quarter with an annual increase of 3.9%. The Food Group comes in second at 2.4%. Entertainment Group follows with a 0.6% increase. The Apparel Group also went through a 0.4% increase.

Five groups faced declines. Medical Care Group experienced a decrease of -1. 7%, followed by the Alcoholic Beverages Group and the Housing Group, both with declines of 0.6%. The Education and Communication Group decreased by 0.4%, and lastly, the Other Goods and Services Group saw a slight decline of 0.1%.

QUARTERLY GROUP MOVEMENTS

The Food Group went through an increase this quarter as most of the food products have gone up. Thirty-nine food commodities have increased in price, with four of these commodities having contributed greatly to the increase by more than 10 percent including salted beef $5.17 a can (18.5%), and eggs $3.02 (29.0%), also canned coffee (10.7%),and cabbage (20.0%), however, no prices were quoted on these two items. Additionally, another food item that has increased is butter $4.43 (8.1 %). Despite the overall rise in food prices, twenty-eight items saw a decrease.

One of these items is cooking oil $4.05 (-4.9%).  Also down, but with no prices mentioned are potatoes (-5.6%), energy drink (-9.0%), and candies (-12.5%).

Aside from fluctuations in food items, eighteen items have remained unchanged this quarter, including water, long bread, pizza, BBQ plates, and chicken wings.

The Alcoholic Group experienced a price increase of 0.3%. Three items were monitored in this category, with two showing changes: beer prices rose to $1.79 a can (1.2%), while wine prices fell by -0.9%. Distilled spirits remained at the same price as last reported.

In the 1^st quarter, the Housing Group experienced a decline of -0.6%. Several items saw a decrease in price, including electricity (7.7%), bedroom furniture (-2.5%), other living room furniture (-2.0%), construction materials (-1.3%), toilet tissues (-1.3%), and rugs (-0.4%). Despite this overall negative change, a few items did increase in price, such as freezers (23.3%), weed whackers (6.1 %), non-electric hand tools (5.1%), and rice cookers (4.1%).

Prices for t-shirts rose by 7.3%, and watches increased by 8.9%. In contrast, prices for women's dresses dropped by -7.9%, and women's and girls' footwear fell by -0.5%. The Medical Care Group has recorded a decrease of -0.5%. All items have remained at the same price as last quarter, except for Supplemental Health Income, which noted an -11.8% decrease.

The Entertainment Group has the largest expenditure this quarter, with a quarterly percentage change of 4.6%. Most entertainment items have maintained their prices; however, five items have experienced price decreases.

These include dressmaking/ tailoring, which decreased by -2.0%, speakers at -7.4%, fishing equipment at - 11.5%, and DVD players, which saw the most significant drop of -40.6%. The average cost of a DVD player last quarter was $71.49, but this quarter it has fallen to $42.50. The only Entertainment item that increased in price is golf equipment, by 4.0%.

The Education and Communication Group decreased by -4.0%. Items that have decreased are smartphones (-8.3%), postal service charges (-3.2%), and tablet computers (-3.0%). However, there were increases in secondary school tuition (1.7%), iPad (1.7%), primary school tuition (5.0%), and school registration (5.2%).

At -2.4%, the Other Goods and Services Group has gone through a decrease this quarter. Both cigarette and laundry costs have dropped, with cigarettes dropping by -2.0% and laundry costs decreasing by -0.3%. Even with the overall decline, three items in this group have seen price increases: hair conditioner (2.9%), soap (1.0%), and deodorant (0.5%).

Though the Transportation Group is the largest expenditure group annually, the quarterly change is recorded at a negative change of -3.6%. Three items have seen price increases: airfare from Pago to Apia (1.1 %), auto tuneup services (2.9%), and airfare from Pago to Manua (3.8%). Still, there has been a decrease in airfare from Pago to Honolulu, which dropped by -1.3%, as well as a decline in the cost of automotive brake repairs by -2.3%.

Additionally, gas and diesel prices have gone down, gas at -1.0% and diesel at -0.3%. Average gas and diesel prices for 2025’s 1^st quarter are $4.19 (gas), and $4.48 (diesel), lower than any of the quarterly prices recorded in 2024.