Wholesale prices of construction materials in MM ease in April

MANILA, Philippines - Wholesale prices of construction materials in Metro Manila eased in April compared to the previous month as prices of fuel and lubricants declined and other commodities posted slower gains, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said.

The statistics agency said in a report the annual movement in the Construction Materials Wholesale Price Index (CMWPI) in the National Capital Region rose 0.6 percent in April, slower compared to the 1.2 percent in March.

This, as prices of fuels and lubricants continued to decline.

“The annual rate in the index for fuels and lubricants further went down to 6.7 percent in April from -5.5 percent in March,” the agency noted.

It added that slowdowns were observed in the indices of most commodity groups during the month.

These are sand and gravel (2.1 percent from three percent); concrete products (1.2 percent from two percent); hardware (1.2 percent from 1.9 percent); plywood (1.5 percent from 1.8 percent); lumber (3.4 percent from 4.1 percent); reinforcing steel (3.1 percent from 3.3 percent); structural steel (2.2 percent from 2.6 percent); glass and glass products (0.8 percent from 0.9 percent); electrical works (2.1 percent from 2.7 percent).