Metro Manila retail prices soar in April

MANILA, Philippines — Retail prices of consumer goods in Metro Manila rose at a faster pace in April, the highest reported since the start of the pandemic, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

The General Retail Price Index (GRPI) in the National Capital Region grew at two percent in April, faster than the 1.8 percent rate in March.

This is also much faster than the growth of 0.7 percent in April 2020. The two percent uptick is the highest recorded over the past 12 months.

Retail prices in the capital remained high even as the national headline inflation remained at 4.5 percent in April.

The index of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials spiked to 20.2 percent after successive periods of annual decreases since March 2020.

Global crude oil prices have started to rebound as demand firms up due to the availability of vaccines,  easing of   restrictions   and sustained global recovery.

The higher cost of imported  oil is one of the major supply-side factors that is driving the country’s inflation over the past months.

On the other hand, retail prices for food eased to 1.9 percent from 2.3 percent.

The lower prices of other food commodities such as rice, fruits and vegetables managed to offset the continued spike in the prices of pork products amid the still limited supply in the market.

Mark-ups were also higher in the indexes of chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats, manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials, and miscellaneous manufactured articles.

Decline, on the other hand, was observed in beverages and tobacco and crude materials, inedible except fuels. Machinery and transport equipment was stable during the period.

The GRPI is an indicator used to monitor the economic situation of the retail trade sector.

It is also used as a deflator of the national accounts especially in the retail trade sector and serves as a basis for forecasting business in the retail trade.