Growth in wholesale prices slowed in Sept

MANILA, Philippines - Wholesale prices of commodities went up at a slower pace in September due to the decline in prices of crude materials and as food and other miscellaneous manufactured articles’ prices eased, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said.

The NSO said in a report the annual movement of the General Wholesale Price Index (GWPI) in the country rose at a slower pace of 2.2 percent in September from 2.6 percent in August.

“This was effected by the decline in the annual rate of crude materials, inedible except fuels index at -14.7 percent in September from -13.1 percent in August,” the statistics body said.

Also contributing to the easing of wholesale prices were the slower annual increases in the food and miscellaneous manufactured articles indices.

The annual gain in the food index eased to 4.1 percent in September from 5.5 percent, while the miscellaneous manufactured articles index posted a slower annual uptick of 1.6 percent in September from 1.7 percent.

Meanwhile, higher annual rates were recorded in the indices of the following commodity groups: beverages and tobacco, (2.1 percent from 1.8 percent); mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, (2.5 percent from 2.1 percent); chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats, (0.1 percent from -0.2 percent); manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials, (2.1 percent from 2 percent); and machinery and transport equipment, (2.5 percent from 2.2 percent).

The NSO said wholesale prices of items in Luzon likewise eased annually in September as the island group’s GWPI picked up at a slower 2.5 percent from 2.7 percent in August.

Annual hikes in the indices of crude materials, inedible except fuels and chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats dropped to -17.5 percent and -0.4 percent from -15.6 percent and -0.7 percent, respectively.

Slower upticks were likewise seen in the food index (5 percent from 6.4 percent) and miscellaneous manufactured articles (1.7 percent from 1.8 percent).

In the Visayas, the annual change in wholesale prices slid to 1.4 percent in September from 1.5 percent in the previous month.

The NSO said this resulted from the slower annual growth rates in the heavily-weighted food index (1.5 percent from 1.9 percent) and mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (2.9 percent from 3.8 percent).

The easing of wholesale prices was also seen in Mindanao with the year-on-year movement in its GWPI at a slower 1.3 percent in September compared to the previous month’s 2.1 percent.

The NSO said Mindanao’s GWPI slowed as the food index went down by -0.3 percent from 1.8 percent and the crude materials, inedible except fuels index, fell by -2.3 percent from -2.8 percent.

It said slower annual growths were also observed in the following indices: mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, (1.2 percent from 1.7 percent); chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats, (3.1 percent from 3.4 percent); manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials, (four percent from 4.1 percent); and machinery and transport equipment, (0.5 percent from 0.6 percent).