JANUARY 2013
Year-on-Year and Month-on-Month Growth Rates
of General Retail Price Index: January 2013 and December 2012
| All Items | January 2013 | December 2012 | Year-to-date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year-on-Year | 3.1 | 2.8 | 3.1 |
| Month-on-Month | 0.3 | 0.1 |
Year-on-Year
The annual change in the General Retail Price Index (GRPI) in the National Capital Region (NCR) went up to 3.1 percent in January from 2.8 percent in December. Higher annual rates was posted in beverages and tobacco index at 18.5 percent in January from 7.6 percent in December; crude materials, inedible except fuels index, 10.8 percent from 8.1 percent; chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats index, 3.0 percent from 2.6 percent; and machinery and transport equipment index, 4.4 percent from 4.0 percent. The annual adjustment in the miscellaneous manufactured articles index remained at 4.0 percent. Those for the rest of the commodity groups were either slower or zero.
By Commodity Group, Month-on-Month
On a monthly basis, the GRPI in NCR picked up to 0.3 percent in January from 0.1 percent in December.
Price mark-ups in liquor, wines including beer and soft drinks along with the increments in the prices of cigarettes raised the beverages and tobacco index by 10.4 percent from 0.1 percent.
The index for crude materials, inedible except fuels rose 2.6 percent from -1.4 percent due to upward price adjustments in gravel and sand.
Price add-ons in gasoline and kerosene caused the mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials index to move up by 0.3 percent from -0.4 percent.
Price gains in paints, medicinal and pharmaceutical products resulted to 0.4 percent growth in the index of chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats.
Prices of electrical wires and wiring devices were pegged higher during the month. Thus, the index for machinery and transport equipment grew by 0.3 percent from 0.2 percent.
Downward price adjustments in selected food items such as chicken, mango, sugar and cooking oil pushed down the heavily-weighted food index by 0.8 percent.
A zero growth was noted in the index of manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials. Price cuts in plywood, sand paper and GI sheet were offsetted by the price upticks in cement, nails and steel bars.
Price increases in clothing and footwear items were noted during the month. On the other hand, price reductions were posted in selected items in sanitary plumbing, heating, lighting fixtures and fittings. These mixed price movements effected a zero growth in the miscellaneous manufactured articles index.
