GROWTH in wholesale prices accelerated to a 16-month high of 4% in April, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in a report.
Citing preliminary data, the PSA said the general wholesale price index (GWPI) accelerated from 2.6% a year earlier and 3.6% in March.
The April reading was the strongest in 16 months, or since the 4.3% posted in December 2023.
In the four months to April, GWPI growth averaged 3.3%, against 2.9% a year earlier.
“The pickup in prices can reflect the sustained pickup in economic activity with a particular increase in crude materials cost outside fuels. Fuel costs are likely keeping a lid on overall GWPI growth,” Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa, a senior economist at the Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., said via e-mail.
He added that the GWPI reading for the Visayas reflects modest gains in food prices as food production in 2025 improved compared to last year’s El Niño-affected output.
The PSA said the uptrend was driven by growth in the index of chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats, which accelerated to 15.3% in April from 12.4% in March.
Also accelerating were sub-indices for crude materials, inedible except fuels (94.6% from 77.9%), beverages and tobacco (3.7% from 3.4%), machinery and transport equipment (1.4% from 1.3%), and miscellaneous manufactured articles (0.1% from 0%).
Prices for food (2.9%) and manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials (1.3%) were steady year on year in April.
Meanwhile, mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials prices declined 4.2%, steeper than the 1.9% dip recorded in March.
Luzon wholesale price growth outpaced the national GWPI, accelerating 4.3% from the 3.9% logged in March, the strongest reading since the 4.4% posted in October 2023.
Wholesale price growth in the Visayas slowed to 0.7% from 0.8% a month earlier, the weakest reading since the 0.4% booked in September 2021.
The Mindanao GWPI picked up to 1.1%, from 0.8% in March, the strongest reading since the 1.2% posted in October 2024. — John Phoebus G. Villanueva