MANILA, Philippines — Factory gate prices declined at a faster pace in November, led by steeper drops in petroleum products and paper, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
The Producers Price Index (PPI) tabulated by the PSA slid at a faster 3.4 percent rate in November from 3.3 percent in October and a growth of 0.4 percent in November 2019.
Month-on-month, the PPI contracted at a faster pace of 0.4 percent in November from 0.1 percent in October.
The PSA attributed the faster annual drop in the PPI to the declines in the indexes of 13 industry groups led by petroleum products which shrank by 10.8 percent in November, faster than the 9.6 decline in October.
Likewise, the index of paper and paper products declined at a slightly faster pace of 10.2 percent in November from 10.1 percent in October, and transport equipment declined by 6.7 percent in November from 5.8 percent in October.
Other industry groups that registered declines during the period were electrical machinery, machinery except electrical, basic metals, chemical products, rubber and plastic products, non-metallic mineral products, wood and wood products, miscellaneous manufactures, and footwear and wearing apparel.
Bucking the trend, meanwhile, were seven industry groups that registered growth in November led by furniture and fixtures, the index of which grew by 18.2 percent in November.
Other industries that registered growth in factory gate prices were beverages, food manufacturing, tobacco products, fabricated metal products, printing, and leather products.
Meanwhile, the Purchasing Managers’ Index for November showed that most firms raised the prices of their products to cope with higher prices of raw materials and transportation costs. Some, however, lowered prices to boost sales.