MANILA, Philippines — Factory gate prices contracted sharply in January as COVID-19 restrictions affected demand nearly across the board, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Latest data from PSA showed that the Producer Price Index (PPI) declined by 5.3 percent, faster than the annual decline of 3.8 percent in December last year.
It is also much quicker than the 3.5 percent drop in January 2020.
The PSA attributed the decline to the negative growth rates in the indexes of 17 industry groups led by coke and refined petroleum products, which decreased by 27.5 percent.
The manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products declined by 12.7 percent. Huge decrements were also noted in paper and paper products, furniture and machinery and equipment.
Meanwhile, only five industry groups registered growth in January with tobacco products posting the fastest growth at 3.4 percent, followed by beverages, food products, rubber and plastic products and basic pharmaceutical products.
The PPI for manufacturing measures the changes in the producer price of key commodities produced by the sector.