Year-on-Year

The annual change of the Construction Materials Retail Price Index (CMRPI) in the National Capital Region (NCR) picked up by 1.5 percent in September 2017. Its annual rate in August 2017 was recorded at 1.1 percent and in September 2016, 1.9 percent. Higher annual increments were observed in the indices of carpentry materials at 0.6 percent; electrical materials, 1.0 percent; masonry materials, 2.9 percent; painting materials and related compounds, 1.5 percent; tinsmithry materials, 0.9 percent; and miscellaneous construction materials, 6.5 percent. On the other hand, the annual increase in the index of plumbing materials decelerated to 0.7 percent during the month (see Table 2).

Month-on-Month

On a monthly basis, the CMRPI in NCR moved up at a slower pace of 0.2 percent in September 2017. Its growth in the previous month was pegged at 0.5 percent. Lower monthly gains were noted in the indices of carpentry materials at 0.3 percent; masonry materials, 0.2 percent; and miscellaneous construction materials, 0.9 percent. Meanwhile, the index of plumbing materials inched up by 0.1 percent after it had a 0.1 percent decline in the previous month. Movement in the index of electrical materials remained at 0.3 percent while the indices of painting materials and tinsmithry materials posted a zero growth during the period (see Table 3).

Upward adjustments were seen in the prices of lumber, plywood, common wire nails, electrical wires, PVC pipe, sand, gravel, G.I. pipes, G.I sheet (corrugated), and steel bars in September 2017. However, price reductions were noted in selected fabricated wire products and glazed tiles during the month (see Table 3).