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Philippines: Factory gate prices surge by 4.7% in January
MANILA, Philippines — Factory gate prices surged at the start of the year as increases were recorded in the majority of industry groups, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
Latest data from PSA showed the Producer Price Index (PPI) for January accelerated by 4.1 percent, significantly faster than the 0.6 percent in December 2021.
In the same period last year, the index slipped by 5.8 percent.
On a month-on-month basis, the PPI still went up at a faster pace of 1.1 percent compared to 0.4 percent in the last month of 2021.
The PSA attributed the upturn to the annual increases in the indexes of 13 industry groups led by the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products, which went up by 15.6 percent.
Other significant increments were also noted in the manufacture of basic metals, chemical and chemical products, rubber and plastic products, food products, and textiles.
Growth was likewise recorded in the manufacture of beverages, non-metallic mineral products, paper and paper products, electrical equipment, furniture, wearing apparel and leather products.
Meanwhile, nine industry groups registered contractions in January with wood, bamboo, cane, rattan articles and related products posting the biggest decline at 8.4 percent.
Others were computer, electronic and optical products, machinery and equipment, basic pharmaceutical products, transport equipment, fabricated metal products, printing and reproduction of media, and tobacco products.
The PPI for manufacturing measures the changes in the producer price of key commodities produced by the sector.
One of its uses is as a deflator to derive the Volume of Production Index and Volume of Net Sales Index.
The PPI has been using 2018 as a base year from the previously used 2000 base period.
Source: https://www.philstar.com/business/2022/03/03/2164484/factory-gate-prices-surge-47-january