Month-on-Month

The Construction Materials Wholesale Price Index (CMWPI) in the National Capital Region (NCR) accelerated by 1.8 percent in April from 0.6 percent in March. This can be attributed to the increments in the indices of fuels and lubricants; 5.2 percent in April from 3.6 percent in March; metal pipes, 3.5 percent from 0.5 percent; G.I. sheets, 2.5 percent from 1.0 percent; interior electrical fixtures and devices, 3.3 percent from 0.6 percent; and electrical rough-in materials, 3.2 percent from 0.8 percent. Moreover, prices of the following commodity groups went up during the month from zero growth: wood products, 0.7 percent; glass and glass products, 3.8 percent; PVC pipes, 6.4 percent; concrete products, 2.0 percent; reinforcing steel, 4.6 percent; structural steel, 1.7 percent; and UPVC water pipes, 3.1 percent. Slower upward movements were however noticed in the prices of lumber at 0.4 percent from 1.3 percent; hardware, 0.1 percent from 0.5 percent; plumbing fixtures, 0.1 percent from 0.5 percent; paints, 0.1 percent from 0.9 percent; and tileworks, 1.8 percent from 3.2 percent. Prices for the rest of the commodity groups generally remained stable as they posted zero growth during the month.

Year-on-Year

The annual inflation rate of the CMWPI in NCR was slightly higher by 0.5 percentage point to 11.9 percent in April from 11.4 percent in March. Higher inflation rates were noted in the indices of the following commodity groups: fuels and lubricants, 29.2 percent from 23.6 percent; glass and glass products, 20.6 percent from 16.2 percent; metal pipes, 35.2 percent from 30.6 percent; PVC pipes, 15.9 percent from 14.3 percent; concrete products, 8.2 percent from 8.0 percent; plumbing fixtures, 7.4 percent from 7.2 percent; reinforcing steel, 13.4 percent from 12.2 percent; structural steel, 6.5 percent from 5.5 percent; G.I. sheets, 19.2 percent from 16.7 percent; interior electrical fixtures and devices, 35.1 percent from 31.4 percent; tileworks, 9.3 percent from 7.8 percent; electrical rough-in materials, 39.8 percent from 35.6 percent; and UPVC water pipes, 3.1 percent from zero growth. Meanwhile, slowdowns were observed in the inflation rates of sand, stone and gravel, cement, lumber, plywood, wood products, hardware, paints, and exterior electrical equipment/supplies. Inflation rates for asphalt, aluminum and other metal products, blasting materials, and machinery and equipment rental were still zero.

Source: National Statistics Office
Manila, Philippines