Year-on-Year

The year-on-year change in the Construction Materials Wholesale Price Index (CMWPI) in the National Capital Region (NCR) further dropped to 1.2 percent in August. In July, it declined by 1.0 percent while in August 2014, it had a positive growth of 2.1 percent. This can be attributed to the annual decreases still recorded in the fuels and lubricants index at -19.0 percent and cement index, -0.7 percent. Slower annual increments were likewise observed in the indices of ten commodity groups. On the other hand, the indices of sand and gravel and hardware grew by 2.4 percent; concrete products, 1.7 percent; and plumbing fixtures and accessories index, 5.7 percent. The rest of the commodity groups retained their corresponding July rates.

Month-on-Month

On a monthly basis, the CMWPI in NCR moved at its July rate of -0.4 percent in August. Declines were seen in the fuels and lubricants index at -4.0 percent and reinforcing steel index, -0.3 percent. Contributing also to the downtrend were the slower growths in the indices of sand and gravel and plywood at 0.1 percent and concrete products, 0.3 percent. Meanwhile, higher monthly gains were noted in cement index at 0.2 percent and in the indices of hardware and plumbing fixtures and accessories, 0.4 percent. The other commodity groups remained stable as they posted a zero growth.

A series of price rollbacks was noticed in gasoline, diesel and fuel oil. Prices of steel bars were also lower during the month. However, sand, gravel, hollow blocks, selected hardware items, cement, plywood and some plumbing fixtures and accessories were priced higher during the month.