PH wholesale price growth slows in November
At A Glance
- The Philippines' rate of prices of goods sold to wholesalers slowed down in November 2023 at 4.2 percent, lower than the year-earlier 7.2 percent<br>Year-to-date, the country's GWPI averaged 4.9 percent.<br>Indices of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials contributed to the slower increase of GWPI during the month.<br>Slower increases were noted in the food, chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats, machinery and transport equipment, and miscellaneous manufactured articles.<br>Meanwhile, a higher increment was seen in the indices of beverages and tobacco.<br>Luzon and Visayas' GWPI registered slower increases while Mindanao had an uptrend at 3.6 percent from 3.3 percent.
The wholesale price growth of general goods saw a slowdown in November last year at 4.2 percent from October, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.
The November reading of the general wholesale price index (GWPI) was weaker than the year-earlier 7.2 percent.
From January to November, the GWPI had an average rate of 4.9 percent.
Of the eight commodity groups surveyed by the PSA, mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials contributed the most to the downtrend at 6.7 percent during the month from a 3.7 percent decline in October.
Also posting slower growths were food (6.8 percent from 7 percent), chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats (1.5 percent from 1.8 percent), machinery and transport equipment (1.3 percent from 1.5 percent), and miscellaneous manufactured articles (3.3 percent from 3.6 percent).
Likewise, drop in annual growths were seen in crude materials, inedible except fuels at 1.9 percent from 3.5 percent while manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials retained its rate of 4.6 percent.
However, index of beverages and tobacco segments saw an increase from 6 percent to 6.2 percent in November 2023.
Price growth in Luzon also picked up at a slower pace at 4.1 percent from 4.4 percent increase in October 2023 and 7.4 percent in November 2022. This was due to a slower increase in food index at 6.4 percent.
The GWPI in Visayas also had a slowdown at 5.2 percent during the month from 5.3 percent in October and 6.5 percent in November 2022 on the back of a lower annual rate in chemicals including animal and vegetable oils.
Meanwhile, growth in wholesale prices in Mindanao noted an increase at 3.6 percent from 3.3 percent in October but lower against 4.8 percent in November 2022.
The wholesale price growth reflects the consumer price growth, or the price changes in goods and services, that dictates the headline inflation.
The PSA reported headline inflation in December of 3.9 percent versus the 8.1 percent recorded in December 2022 and 4.1 percent in November 2023.
However, the growth in rice prices continued to accelerate at 19.6 percent, which is the highest in 14 years, the PSA noted.