Wholesale prices of goods rose slower in Dec – PSA

MANILA, Philippines — Wholesale prices of goods in the country eased in December from the previous month mainly due to the slower movement of food prices, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Data from the PSA yesterday showed the annual growth of the General Wholesale Price Index (GWPI) nationwide slowed further to 6.7 percent in December last year from 7.2 percent in November last year.

The growth in GWPI in December last year, however, was faster than the 4.1 percent in the same month in 2021.

The GWPI, which measures the changes in prices in wholesale trade, is used as a basis for price adjustments in business contracts and projects.

“The lower year-on-year increment of GWPI in the Philippines was primarily caused by the slower annual increase in the heavily-weighted food index at 11.7 percent in December 2022,” the PSA said.

In November 2022, the food index registered a 12.3 percent uptick.

Other commodity groups such as beverages and tobacco; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials; chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats; and miscellaneous manufactured articles also registered lower increases in December 2022 compared to November last year.

Meanwhile, commodity groups with higher increases in December last year compared to November 2022 are manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials; and machinery and transport equipment.

As for the crude materials, inedible except fuels index, this remained at an annual decline of 17.7 percent in December last year.

For full year 2022, average growth of GWPI was at 7.3 percent, higher than the 3.1 percent in 2021.

In Luzon, the growth in GWPI was at 6.9 percent in December 2022, lower than the 7.4 percent in November last year but higher than the 4.1 percent in December 2021.

PSA said the lower annual growth of GWPI in Luzon was primarily due to the downtrend in the food index.

Lower annual increments were also posted in December 2022 compared to November by the following: beverages and tobacco; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials; chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats; and miscellaneous manufactured articles.