Year-on-Year

The annual change of the Construction Materials Retail Price Index (CMRPI) in the National Capital Region (NCR) picked up by 1.1 percent in July 2017. It rose by 0.9 percent in June 2017 and 1.4 percent in July 2016. Higher annual increments were observed in the indices of the following commodity groups:

• Masonry materials (1.9%);
• Painting materials and related compounds (1.0%);
• Plumbing materials (2.0%); and
• Miscellaneous construction materials (6.6%).

Meanwhile, a slower annual gain of 0.3 percent was registered in tinsmithry materials index. Annual movements in the indices of electrical materials and carpentry materials remained at 1.1 percent and -0.7 percent, respectively (see Table 2).

Month-on-Month

The CMRPI in NCR went up by 0.2 percent in July 2017. Its growth in the previous month was pegged at 0.1 percent. The masonry materials index registered a higher increase of 1.4 percent during the month. Moreover, from -0.1 percent in June 2017, the plumbing materials index rose by 0.2 percent. On the other hand, the increment in miscellaneous construction materials index slowed down to 0.9 percent. Other commodity groups posted zero growth during the period (see Table 3).

Upward price adjustments were observed in gravel, sand, hollow blocks, paints, G.I. pipes, and steel bars in July 2017.