PRICE GROWTH in wholesale goods accelerated to a 15-month high in March, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in a report.
Citing preliminary data, the PSA said the general wholesale price index (GWPI) rose 3.6% year on year, against 2.5% a year earlier and 2.9% in February.
The March reading was the strongest in 15 months, or since the 4.3% registered in December 2023.
In the first quarter, the GWPI averaged 3.1%, against the year-earlier 3%.
The PSA said the uptrend was driven by the index of chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats, which accelerated to 12.4% in March from 10.1% in February.
Also accelerating were sub-indices for crude materials, inedible except fuels (77.9% from 60.6%), beverages and tobacco (3.4% from 2.9%), food (2.9% from 2.3%), and manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials (1.3% from 0.9%).
Miscellaneous manufactured material prices did not change year on year in March.
Meanwhile, the PSA noted slower growth in prices of machinery transport and equipment at 1.3% from 1.6% in February, and mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials, which declined 1.9% after a 0.3% dip in the previous month.
GWPI growth was mixed by major island group.
Luzon’s wholesale price growth accelerated to 3.9% from the 3.2% logged in February. The national average was 3.6%, the strongest reading in 15 months since the 4.2% posted in December 2023.
Wholesale price growth in the Visayas slowed to 0.8% from 1% a month earlier, the weakest reading since the 0.4% growth rate in September 2021.
Meanwhile, Mindanao GWPI picked up by 0.8%, against the 0.7% in February, the strongest reading since the 1.1% posted in December.
For the rest of the year, Reinielle Matt M. Erece, economist at Oikonomia Advisory and Research, expects the GWPI to continue on this track as “rate cuts are expected, which may increase demand for goods and even business expansion.”
The low inflation rates seen in the first quarter, which averaged 2.2%, were well below the 3.2% forecast by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for the period. — Matthew Miguel L. Castillo