Wholesale prices spike in July

MANILA, Philippines — The nationwide wholesale prices of consumer goods rose to an 18-month high in July, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

The General Wholesale Price Index (GWPI) in the Philippines grew at 2.9 percent in July, faster than the 2.2 percent rate in June.

This is also much quicker than the growth of 2.7 percent in July 2020.

While the index of crude materials is still at a double-digit increase, it went down to 38.5 percent from the 39.2 percent in June.

However, mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials registered a faster 18.2 percent hike.

Wholesale prices for food also increased to 1.2 percent from 0.5 percent.

Mark-ups were also higher in the indexes of beverages and tobacco and manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials.

Declines, on the other hand, were seen in chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats and miscellaneous manufactured articles. Machinery and transport equipment retained its 0.9 percent increase.

Following the trend at the national level, the GWPI in Luzon also spiked to three percent from 2.1 percent. Crude materials and fuels remained the cause of upticks, but at a much softer pace.

Visayas also saw its wholesale prices move up to 0.6 percent while Mindanao registered a decrease to 4.4 percent.