MAY 2015
Year-on-Year and Month-on-Month Growth Rates
of General Retail Price Index
| All Items | May 2015 | April 2015 | May 2014 | Year-to-date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year-on-Year | 1.5 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 1.8 |
| Month-on-Month | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
Year-on-Year
The annual gain in the General Retail Price Index (GRPI) in the National Capital Region (NCR) further slowed down to 1.5 percent in May 2015. Last month, it grew by 1.8 percent and in May 2014, 2.6 percent. The indices of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials and machinery and transport equipment continued to post negative annual rates of 15.9 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively. In addition, slower annual upticks were recorded in the heavily-weighted food index at 4.0 percent; beverages and tobacco index, 4.1 percent; crude materials, inedible except fuels index, 1.0 percent; and manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials index, 1.8 percent. A faster annual increase was however, registered in miscellaneous manufactured articles index at 1.7 percent. The annual growth in chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats index remained at 1.7 percent.
By Commodity Group, Month-on-Month
Compared to its last month’s level, the GRPI in NCR inched up by 0.1 percent in May 2015.
Price hikes in gasoline, diesel fuel and kerosene pushed up the index of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials by 3.2 percent.
The index of chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats rose 0.1 percent. This was brought about by the price add-ons in other products related to paints and selected medicinal and pharmaceutical products.
Price increments in selected wires and wiring devices effected a 0.2 percent growth in the machinery and equipment index.
Prices of selected ready-made clothing, undergarments and footwear items were quoted higher during the month. Thus, the index of miscellaneous manufactured articles moved up by 0.3 percent.
The 0.6 percent drop in the heavily- weighted food index was attributed to price cuts in eggs, fish, rice, unmilled corn and fruits.
The crude materials inedible except fuels index went down by 0.1 percent due to lower prices of gravel.
No movement was seen in the indices of beverages and tobacco and manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials during the month.
