Metro retail prices increase at slowest pace in 11 months

MANILA, Philippines — Retail prices of goods in Metro Manila experienced the slowest growth in 11 months in May, largely due to slower upticks in food prices, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the General Retail Price Index (GRPI) growth in Metro Manila decelerated to 4.9 percent in May from 5.4 percent in April.

The latest GRPI reading for the National Capital Region (NCR) is the lowest growth since the 4.7 percent increase in June last year.

The May GRPI growth, however, is higher than the 4.1 percent uptick in May last year.

“The primary driver of the lower annual growth of GRPI in NCR was the slower year-on-year increase in the heavily weighted food index at 10 percent during the month from 10.6 percent in April 2023,” the PSA said.

It said the continued decline in mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials at -12.8 percent in May 2023 from -8.4 percent in the previous month also contributed to the downtrend in GRPI growth.

Commodity groups with lower increases were machinery and transport equipment as well as beverages and tobacco.

On the other hand, commodity groups with higher mark-ups were crude materials, inedible except fuels; chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats, and miscellaneous manufactured articles.

Manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials retained their previous month’s growth of 2.8 percent in May.

From  January to May, GRPI growth averaged 5.9 percent.

GRPI tracks the changes in the retailers’ prices to consumers or end-users.

The index is used for monitoring the economic situation of the retail sector, as well as for forecasting business in retail trade.