Year-on-Year Growth Rates, All Items
October 2014 - October 2015
| Month | Philippines | Luzon | Visayas | Mindanao |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | ||||
| October | -3.1 | -3.5 | -1.4 | -1.0 |
| September | -4.3 | -4.9 | -2.2 | -1.6 |
| August | -4.1 | -4.4 | -2.8 | -2.5 |
| July | -3.7 | -4.1 | -1.9 | -2.2 |
| June | -3.7 | -4.2 | -1.0 | -2.1 |
| May | -4.1 | -4.8 | -0.3 | -1.8 |
| April | -4.4 | -4.9 | -0.5 | -2.9 |
| March | -4.7 | -5.2 | -1.9 | -3.0 |
| February | -4.9 | -5.4 | -2.4 | -2.1 |
| January | -6.4 | -7.2 | -3.0 | -3.0 |
| 2014 | ||||
| December | -4.1 | -4.8 | -1.2 | -0.8 |
| November | -0.4 | -0.8 | 1.1 | 1.3 |
| October | 1.0 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 1.5 |
Year-on-Year
The country’s General Wholesale Price Index continued its downtrend as it posted -3.1 percent in October and in September 2015 it was recorded at -4.3 percent. In October 2014, it was registered at 1.0 percent. Annual declines were noted in the indices of crude materials, inedible except fuels at -0.5 percent and mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials at -23.1 percent. In addition, the annual uptick in beverages and tobacco index slowed down to 3.3 percent; chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats index, 2.3 percent; manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials index, 1.4 percent; and miscellaneous manufactured articles index, 2.2 percent. On the other hand, higher annual rates were observed in the indices of food at 3.7 percent and machinery and transport equipment, 0.8 percent.
The annual change of the GWPI in Luzon dropped by 3.5 percent in October. It was pegged at -4.9 percent in September. This was attributed to the negative annual rates recorded in the indices of crude materias, inedible except fuels index at -0.5 percent and mineral fuels, lubricants and related material, -23.6 percent. Also contributing to the downtrend was the slower annual increment in beverages and tobacco index at 3.0 percent; chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats index, 2.8 percent; manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials index, 1.5 percent; and miscellaneous manufactured articles index, 2.5 percent. Meanwhile, a higher annual mark-up was noted in food index at 4.2 percent. Movement in the machinery and transport equipment index remained at 0.9 percent.
A similar trend was noticed in the GWPI in Visayas as it exhibited a negative rate of 1.4 percent in October. Last month, it was posted at -2.2 percent. This was effected by the reductions in the indices of crude materials, inedible except fuels at -6.7 percent and in mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, -24.8 percent. Moreover, annual add-ons decelerated in manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials index at 0.9 percent and miscellaneous manufactured articles index, 1.4 percent. On the other hand, the food index picked up by 5.4 percent and chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats index, 0.6 percent. The indices for beverages and tobacco and machinery and transport equipment retained their September rates of 7.3 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
In Mindanao, the GWPI dropped by 1.0 percent. This was brought about by the annual declines observed in the food index at -0.4 percent; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials index at -11.5 percent; and chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats index, -0.3 percent. A lower annual growth of 0.5 percent was also noted in miscellaneous manufactured articles index. The crude materials, inedible except fuels index, however, moved up at a faster pace of 15.2 percent. The rest of the commodity groups retained their last month’s rate.
By Commodity Group, Month-on-Month
On a monthly basis, the GWPI at the national level advanced by 0.3 percent in October. Higher growths were recorded in the index of food at 0.5 percent; crude materials, inedible except fuels, 1.5 percent; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, 0.6 percent; chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats, 0.3 percent; and machinery and transport equipment, 0.2 percent. Other commodity groups posted a zero growth during the month.
A 0.5 percent growth in the food index in Luzon was brought about by the increments in the prices of selected food items such as vegetables and fruits. In Visayas, prices of eggs, beef, some milk products, milled rice, noodles, and onions were higher during the month. Thus, its group’s index in Visayas moved up by 0.8 percent. Price add-ons on some fruits and vegetables were seen in Mindanao, hence, its group’s index went up by 0.3 percent. For the Philippines, the group’s index gained 0.5 percent.
The crude materials, inedible except fuels index in Luzon rose 1.7 percent as prices of copra, sand, gravel and pebbles were on the uptrend. Higher prices of firewood were also seen in Mindanao that resulted to 1.5 percent increase. In Visayas, the index for crude materials, inedible except fuels recorded a zero growth. At the national level, its index advanced 1.5 percent.
Price hikes in gasoline, diesel oil, kerosene and LPG pushed up the mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials index in Luzon by 0.6 percent and in Visayas, 0.1 percent. In Mindanao, the group’s index had a zero growth. At the country level, the index grew by 0.6 percent.
In Luzon, the monthly growth of the index for chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats went up 0.4 percent. It resulted from price gains in selected paints and coconut oil. Moreover, higher prices of some cosmetics and toilet preparations pulled up the group’s index in Visayas by 0.1 percent. However, the general downward adjustments in the prices of fertilizers in Mindanao pushed down the group’s index in the area by 0.1 percent. For the Philippines, the group’s index increased by 0.3 percent.
The 0.2 percent gain in the machinery and transport equipment index in Luzon was due to the increases in the prices of agricultural machinery and equipment. Meanwhile, a 0.1 percent decrease was registered in the group’s index in Mindanao as prices of electrical lamps were quoted lower during the period. The group’s index in Visayas recorded a zero growth. In the Philippines, the group’s index moved up 0.2 percent.
Note:
GWPI by sub-group for Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and at the national level are also available upon request at PSA, Price Statistics Division (Telephone Number: 376-1959).
