Year-on-Year

The annual change of the Construction Materials Retail Price Index (CMRPI) in the National Capital Region (NCR) picked up 1.6 percent in August 2016. Last month, the CMRPI posted 1.5 percent annual growth while in August 2015, it declined by 0.4 percent. Higher annual increments were observed in the indices of electrical materials at 1.2 percent; painting materials and related compounds, 1.5 percent; and plumbing materials, 1.8.percent. On the other hand, slower annual increases were recorded in the indices of carpentry materials at 1.8 percent; masonry materials, 3.2 percent; and miscellaneous construction materials, 2.2 percent. Annual movement of tinsmithry materials index remained at 0.7 percent (Table 2).

Month-on-Month

The CMRPI in NCR went up 0.2 percent in August 2016 after it posted a flat growth last month. This was due to the 0.6 percent gain registered in electrical materials and plumbing materials indices and 0.2 percent in painting materials and related compounds index. The increment in miscellaneous construction materials index however, decelerated to 0.2 percent. Moreover, the indices for carpentry materials and masonry materials dropped by 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively. That for tinsmithry materials index had a flat growth during the month (Table 3).

Upward price adjustments were noted in electrical wires, safety switch, PVC pipe, sanitary fixtures and G.I. pipes. On the other hand, lower prices were seen in plywood, common wire nail, finishing nail, sand and glazed tiles.