Retail price growth for general goods in Metro Manila posted a slight uptick in July this year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.
Preliminary PSA data revealed that the general retail price index (GRPI) for the National Capital Region (NCR) settled at 1.9 percent year-on-year, a decline from 3.9 percent in the same month last year but a slight increase from 1.8 percent in June.
This July figure marks the lowest growth rate observed since August 2021, when it was recorded at 2.0 percent.
Over the first seven months of this year, the average GRPI in Metro Manila stood at 2.07 percent, significantly lower than the 5.36 percent seen in the same timeframe in 2023.
Price growth in key sectors remained stable, with the food index holding at 2.4 percent from the previous month, and miscellaneous manufactured articles at 1.5 percent.
However, some categories noted declines, including beverages and tobacco, which fell from 2.6 percent to 2.4 percent, and machinery and transport equipment, decreasing from 0.4 percent to 0.3 percent.
Conversely, the PSA reported increased annual growth in certain commodity groups, such as crude materials, which rose from 0.8 percent to 1.1 percent, and chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats, which increased from 2.0 percent to 2.2 percent.
The GRPI serves as an important tool for monitoring retail trade conditions, functioning as a deflator in the National Accounts and aiding in economic forecasts.