Wholesale price growth slows in May – PSA

MANILA, Philippines — Bulk prices of goods in the country in May posted its lowest growth in nearly three years with most commodity groups posting slower increases, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

Retail prices in the National Capital Region (NCR) in May also registered its slowest growth in over two years.

Data from the PSA showed the growth in the General Wholesale Price Index (GWPI) at the national level eased to 2.3 percent in May from 2.6 percent in the previous month and five percent in May 2023.

The latest GWPI growth was the lowest since the 2.2 percent increase in June 2021.

“The downtrend in the annual rate of the GWPI in the country was primarily caused by the lower annual increase in the index of miscellaneous manufactured articles at 0.3 percent in May 2024 from two percent in April 2024,” the PSA said.

In addition, slower increases were observed in five commodity groups in May from the previous month such as beverages and tobacco (3.1 percent from 4.4 percent); crude materials, inedible except fuels (4.2 percent from 8.4 percent); chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats (two percent from 2.3 percent); manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials (1.1 percent from 1.6 percent) and machinery and transport equipment (0.4 percent from 0.5 percent).

Meanwhile, mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials registered a higher increase of 6.5 percent in May from 4.8 percent in April.

Growth in wholesale prices of food was unchanged at 3.6 percent.

Separate data released by the PSA showed the General Retail Price Index (GRPI) in NCR went up at a slower pace of two percent in May this year from 2.1 percent in April and 4.9 percent in May 2023.

The NCR’s GRPI growth in May is the slowest since the 1.9 percent uptick posted in January 2022.

The PSA attributed the slower GRPI growth in NCR primarily to the slower increase in the heavily-weighted food index at 2.5 percent in May from 2.6 percent in the previous month.

In addition, the following commodity groups had slower increments in May from the previous month: beverages and tobacco (three percent from 3.7 percent); crude materials, inedible except fuels  (0.6 percent from 0.8 percent); chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats (2.2 percent from 2.5 percent) and manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials (1.3 percent from 1.4 percent).

On the other hand, mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials had a higher mark-up of 6.1 percent in May from five percent in April.

Those which retained their previous month’s rates are machinery and transport equipment at 0.6 percent and miscellaneous manufactured articles at 1.2 percent.