Year-on-Year Growth Rates, All Items
August 2014 - August 2015
| Month | Philippines | Luzon | Visayas | Mindanao |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | ||||
| August | -4.1p | -4.4p | -2.8 | -2.5 |
| July | -3.7 | -4.1 | -1.9 | -2.2 |
| June | -3.7 | -4.2 | -1.0 | -2.1 |
| May | -4.1 | -4.8 | -0.3 | -1.8 |
| April | -4.4 | -4.9 | -0.5 | -2.9 |
| March | -4.7 | -5.2 | -1.9 | -3.0 |
| February | -4.9 | -5.4 | -2.4 | -2.1 |
| January | -6.4 | -7.2 | -3.0 | -3.0 |
| 2014 | ||||
| December | -4.1 | -4.8 | -1.2 | -0.8 |
| November | -0.4 | -0.8 | 1.1 | 1.3 |
| October | 1.0 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 1.5 |
| September | 1.7 | 1.6 | 3.3 | 1.9 |
| August | 3.1 | 3.0r | 3.3 | 3.0 |
p - preliminary
r - revised
Year-on-Year
The General Wholesale Price Index (GWPI) at the national level continued its downtrend as its year-on-year change was registered at -4.1 percent in August. Last month, it went down by 3.7 percent and in August 2014, it grew by 3.1 percent. The drop was mainly due to the continuous decline in mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials index at -28.3 percent. Annual increments were also slower in the indices of food, 3.8 percent; beverages and tobacco, 8.5 percent; crude materials, inedible except fuels, 3.3 percent; chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats, 3.4 percent; and manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials, 2.4 percent. On the other hand, the annual increase of miscellaneous manufactured articles index was higher at 2.5 percent while the machinery and transport equipment index retained its last month’s rate of 0.8 percent.
In Luzon, the GWPI fell by 4.4 percent in August. This was brought about by the continuous decrease in the mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials index at -28.6 percent. Moreover, slow-paced annual hikes were observed in the heavily-weighted food index at 4.4 percent; beverages and tobacco index, 9.6 percent; crude materials, inedible except fuels index, 4.0 percent; manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials index, 2.7 percent; and machinery and transport equipment index, 0.9 percent. However, the miscellaneous manufactured articles index grew by 2.9 percent while the annual uptick in the chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats index remained at 4.4 percent.
The same trend was noticed in the GWPI in Visayas as it posted a negative rate of 2.8 percent in August. Annual declines were still seen in crude materials, inedible except fuels and mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials indices at -5.4 percent and, -28.8 percent, respectively. In addition, slower annual gains were observed in the food index at 4.0 percent; beverages and tobacco index, 7.3 percent; and chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats index, 0.5 percent. Meanwhile, the miscellaneous manufactured articles index picked up 1.3 percent. The indices of manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials and machinery and transport equipment moved at their respective last month’s rates of 1.1 percent and 0.5 percent.
Similarly, the annual change of the GWPI in Mindanao dipped by 2.5 percent. It resulted from the reductions in the indices of food at -0.2 percent; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials index, -22.9 percent; and chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats index, -0.3 percent. The manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials index slowed at 1.1 percent. On the other hand, the machinery and transport equipment index inched up 0.1 percent. The rest of the commodity groups retained their July rates.
By Commodity Group, Month-on-Month
On a monthly basis, the GWPI at the national level further sank by 0.9 percent in August. This can be attributed to the decreases in the indices of the following commodity groups: crude materials, inedible except fuels, -2.0 percent; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, -4.5 percent; and chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats, -0.2 percent. In addition, the increments in the indices of manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials and miscellaneous manufactured articles eased to 0.1 percent. Meanwhile, the machinery and transport equipment index rose 0.1 percent while the food and beverages and tobacco indices generally remained stable as they had a zero growth.
A series of price rollbacks in gasoline, diesel and kerosene pushed down the mineral fuels, lubricants and related material index in Luzon by 4.7 percent; Visayas and Philippines, -4.5 percent; and Mindanao, -0.9 percent.
Lower prices of copra and abaca caused a 2.1 percent decline in the crude materials, inedible except fuels index in Luzon and in Visayas, -2.6 percent. In Mindanao, prices of crude materials, inedible except fuels generally remained stable at its index had a zero growth. At the national level, the group’s index decreased by 2.0 percent.
The index for chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats in Luzon went down by 0.2 percent as lower prices of coconut oil, paints and other medical preparations were observed in the area during the month. In Visayas and Mindanao, the group’s index correspondingly dropped by 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent due to downward adjustments in the prices of fertilizer during the month. In the Philippines, movement in the group’s index was posted at - 0.2 percent.
The manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials index in Luzon went up by 0.2 percent. This was due to the price upticks in lumber, plywood, paper products, concrete products, glass products and tiles in the area. In Visayas, higher prices of paper products were offset by the price cuts in some glass products. Thus, the group’s index in the area had a zero growth. However, prices of some hardware items in Mindanao pulled down its index by 0.2 percent. The national index grew by 0.1 percent.
A 0.2 percent growth in the miscellaneous manufactured articles index in Luzon was brought about by price additions in sanitary fixtures, textbooks and some office supplies. Similarly, price gains in some sanitary fixtures and selected furniture effected a 0.1 percent growth in its group’s index in Visayas. Meanwhile, the miscellaneous manufactured articles index in Mindanao had a zero growth during the month. At the national level, the index went up 0.1 percent.
The machinery and transport equipment index in Luzon and Mindanao moved up by 0.1 percent during the month. Prices of selected electrical appliances and insulated electrical wires were on the uptrend in Luzon. Moreover, higher prices of electrical lamps and fixtures were observed in Mindanao. In Visayas, prices of machinery and transport equipment items generally remained stable during the month. At the national level, the group’s index rose 0.1 percent.
The food index in Luzon advanced by 0.4 percent. This was mainly due to price increases in selected food items such as eggs, milk, fish, selected fruits, vegetables and roots and tubers. Prices of poultry feeds in the area were also higher during the month. However, downward adjustments in the prices of rice and bakery products pushed down the group’s index in Visayas by 0.6 percent. In Mindanao, a decrease of 1.9 percent was seen in its group’s index due to lower prices of live weight hogs, pork some fish species, fruits, vegetables, calamansi and cereal preparations. These mixed price trends among the areas effected a zero growth in the group’s national index.
The beverages and tobacco index in Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and in the Philippines had a zero growth.
Note:
GWPI by sub-group for Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and at the national level are also available upon request at PSA, Economic Sector Statistics Service, Economic Indices and Indicators Division (Telephone Number: 376-1959).
