December 2009

Year-on-Year Inflation Rates, All Items
December 2008 - December 2009

p - pleminary
r - revised

Year-on-Year

• The year-on-year growth rate of the General Wholesale Price Index (GWPI) at the national level advanced to 5.7 percent in December from 2.6 percent in November. This was mainly due to higher annual rates correspondingly recorded in the indices of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials and chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats at 20.0 percent and 4.4 percent in December from their respective last month's rates of 4.4 percent and 2.1 percent. On the other hand, a negative rate was still observed in the index of crude materials, inedible except fuels at -15.1 percent from -15.9 percent. Moreover, slower annual price hikes were registered in the indices of food and manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials at 5.4 percent and 0.4 percent from 5.7 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, the annual movements in beverages and tobacco, machinery and transport equipment and miscellaneous manufactured articles index remained at their previous month's rates.
  

• Compared to a year ago, the average annual growth rate of the GWPI in 2009 dropped to -3.9 percent from 11.9 percent. Negative average annual rate was observed in the index of crude materials, inedible except fuels at -21.7 percent in 2009 from 18.2 percent in 2008; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, -21.0 percent from 30.7 percent; and machinery and transport equipment, -0.2 percent from 3.2 percent. Likewise, slower average annual growth rates were posted in the indices of the following commodity groups: food, 4.7 percent from 8.9 percent; beverages and tobacco, 2.7 percent from 4.7 percent; chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats, 1.8 percent from 8.6 percent; manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials, 3.3 percent from 5.7 percent; and miscellaneous manufactured articles, 1.8 percent from 3.0 percent.
  

• The annual movement of the GWPI in Luzon went up to 6.4 percent in December from 2.9 percent in November as higher annual growth rates were correspondingly noted in the indexes of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials and chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats at 21.8 percent and 5.2 percent from 4.8 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively. However, a decline was still registered in the index of crude materials, inedible except fuels at -16.8 percent. In addition, the corresponding annual price gains in food and manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials index were slower at 6.1 percent and 0.3 percent from their respective last month's rates of 6.7 percent and 0.8 percent. Meanwhile, the annual price movement in the index for beverages and tobacco, machinery and transport equipment and miscellaneous manufactured articles was at their corresponding last month's rates of 1.8 percent, -2.0 percent and 0.5 percent.
  

• The average annual growth rate of the GWPI in Luzon was negative at -4.6 percent in 2009 from 12.9 percent in 2008 as lower annual growths were recorded in all of the commodity groups. A decline in the average annual growth rate of crude materials, inedible except fuels index was noted at -23.4 percent in 2009 from 19.2 percent in 2008; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, -22.5 percent from 32.1 percent; and machinery and transport equipment, -0.9 percent from 3.8 percent. Likewise, a slower annual average increment was posted in the index of the following commodity groups: food, 6.6 percent from 9.9 percent; beverages and tobacco, 4.0 percent from 4.7 percent; chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats, 1.4 percent from 8.0 percent; manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials, 3.7 percent from 5.1 percent; and miscellaneous manufactured articles, 1.7 percent from 2.9 percent.
  

• In Visayas, a higher annual increase in the wholesale prices of commodities was noticed at 1.1 percent in December from -0.1 percent in November. This was mainly due to the upward annual price increment in the index of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials at 10.1 percent from 0.3 percent. However, slower annual price gains were correspondingly seen in the indices of food and miscellaneous manufactured articles at 0.8 percent and 0.5 percent from their corresponding last month's rates of 1.6 percent and 0.7 percent. A continuous drop in the annual price movement was also posted in the index of chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats at -0.8 percent from -1.1 percent; manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials and machinery and transport equipment, -0.4 percent from -0.7 percent and -0.8 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, the annual growth rates for beverages and tobacco and crude materials, inedible except fuels indices remained at -5.9 percent and -8.3 percent, respectively.
  

• The average annual growth rate of the GWPI in Visayas was negative at -4.7 percent in 2009 compared to 7.9 percent in 2008. Declines were registered in the average annual movement of the food index at -4.3 percent in 2009 from 2.1 percent last year; beverages and tobacco, -1.5 percent from 5.8 percent; crude materials, inedible except fuels, -15.6 percent from 14.1 percent; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, -16.2 percent from 22.9 percent; manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials, -0.1 percent from 12.6 percent; and machinery and transport equipment, -0.8 percent from 0.3 percent. Similarly, slower annual price hikes were correspondingly recorded in the indices of chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats and miscellaneous manufactured articles at 1.7 percent and 3.5 percent from 14.7 percent and 6.9 percent, respectively.
  

• The annual price uptick based on the GWPI in Mindanao further climbed to 3.8 percent in December from 2.8 percent in November. It resulted from the increase in the annual growth rates of the food index at 4.4 percent from 2.7 percent; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, 4.5 percent from 3.3 percent; chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats, 4.1 percent from 4.0 percent; manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials, 2.6 percent from 1.9 percent; and miscellaneous manufactured articles, 2.2 percent from 2.0 percent. Meanwhile, a negative rate of -2.2 percent was still posted in the index of beverages and tobacco while those for crude materials, inedible except fuels and machinery and transport equipment remained at their corresponding last month's rates of 6.2 percent and 5.5 percent.
  

• The average annual growth rate of the GWPI in Mindanao decelerated by 4.6 percentage points to 2.8 percent in 2009 from 7.4 percent in 2008. This was effected by the negative average annual growth in the index of beverages and tobacco at -1.9 percent from 3.5 percent. Moreover, slower average annual growth rates were noted in the index of the following commodity groups: food, 1.2 percent from 10.1 percent; crude materials, inedible except fuels, 4.5 percent from 6.4 percent; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, 6.9 percent from 17.0 percent; chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats, 4.8 percent from 6.9 percent; and manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials, 3.2 percent from 4.6 percent. However, the average annual increment for the index of machinery and transport equipment and miscellaneous manufactured were correspondingly higher at 4.8 percent and 1.7 percent from their previous year's average rates of 2.2 percent and 1.3 percent.
  

• By Commodity Group, Month-on-Month

  The monthly price adjustment of the GWPI at the national level went up at a slower pace of 0.7 percent in December from 1.2 percent in November. A price reduction was observed in the manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials index at -0.1 percent in December from 0.1 percent in November. Moreover, slower monthly price movements were correspondingly recorded in the indexes of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials and chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats at 1.0 percent and 0.2 percent from 3.5 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively. A higher monthly rate of price addition was however posted in the index of food at 1.3 percent from its last month's rate of 1.2 percent. Prices of beverages and tobacco, crude materials, inedible except fuels, machinery and transport equipment and miscellaneous manufactured articles remained stable as their group's index had a zero growth.
  

  NOTE :

  • The index for manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials in Mindanao dropped by -0.1 percent in December from zero growth due to the decline in the prices of selected paper products. Meanwhile, movement in the prices of manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials in Luzon and Visayas was zero. The group's index at the national level moved at -0.1 percent.
    

  • The index for mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials in Luzon eased to 1.3 percent from 3.7 percent as lower prices of crude petroleum oil was noted during the month. In Visayas, reduction in the prices of petroleum products pushed down its group's index by -2.5 percent. On the contrary, higher prices of LPG in Mindanao resulted to a 1.0 percent increment in the group's index in Mindanao. Thus, the group's index in the Philippines slowed to 1.0 percent from 3.5 percent.
    

  • Upward price movements in coconut oil and selected painting materials effected a 0.2 percent increase in the index for chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats in Luzon, but this was slower than the 0.7 percent growth last month. Meanwhile, no changes were observed in the prices of many items in this group as their indexes in Visayas and Mindanao had a zero growth. The group's national index moved up by 0.2 percent compared to last month's 0.5 percent.
    

  • Higher prices of food items such as eggs, selected fish species, fruits, vegetables, sugar and the price gain in poultry feeds pushed up the food index in Mindanao by 1.6 percent. Similarly, increased prices of beef, pork, milk products, canned goods and selected vegetables in Visayas and Luzon raised the group's index by 0.4 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively. All these factors contributed to the 1.3 percent growth in the group's index at the national level.
    

  • In the three areas and at the national level, the index for beverages and tobacco, crude materials, inedible except fuels, machinery and transport equipment and miscellaneous manufactured articles generally remained stable in December.
    

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    Revisions of the series from January to July 2007 were made due to the updated price reports on asphalt and the implementation of new rental rates on machinery and transport equipment provided by the official sources.

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  Source: National Statistics Office
  Manila, Philippines
  
  Page last revised: March 19, 2010