Factory prices inch up in October

MANILA, Philippines — Factory gate prices picked up in October as increases were recorded in most industry groups, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

Latest PSA data showed that the producer price index (PPI) for October went up 0.1 percent, a reversal from the 0.3 percent contraction in September.

The index slipped 4.6 percent in the same period last year.

The PSA attributed the upturn to the annual increases in the indexes of 13 industry groups led by the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products, which went up by 19.6 percent.

Other significant increments were also noted in the manufacture of basic metals, chemical and chemical products, rubber and plastic products, and electrical equipment.

Meanwhile, nine industry groups registered contractions in October, with computer, electronic and optical products posting the biggest decline at 16.4 percent.

Others were wood, bamboo, cane, rattan articles and related products, machinery and equipment, printing and reproduction of media, and non-metallic mineral products, among others.

The PPI for manufacturing measures the changes in the producer price of key commodities produced by the sector. One of its uses is as a deflator to derive the volume of production index and volume of net sales index.