THE wholesale price of construction materials in Metro Manila contracted to a nearly 16-year low in July, with concrete products driving the decline, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in a report.
Citing preliminary data, the construction materials wholesale price index (CMWPI) in the National Capital Region (NCR) declined 0.3% year on year in July, reversing the 0.2% rise in June and the 0.5% expansion a year earlier.
The July reading was the weakest since the 1.8% contraction posted in October 2009.
Demand is weakening, inflation is easing and interest rates remain high, dampening construction activity, according to Jonathan L. Ravelas, senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co.
“Builders are holding back, and prices of key materials like reinforcing steel and fuels have dropped,” he said via Viber.
In the seven months to July, Metro Manila’s CMWPI rose 0.2%, slowing from the 0.7% growth posted a year earlier.
“The downtrend in the annual growth rate of the CMWPI in the NCR was mainly caused by the annual drop of the heavily weighted index of concrete products at 0.6% in July 2025 from the 0.4% annual increase in the previous month,” the PSA said.
Similarly, tileworks prices eased 1.2% in July from 1.7% in June, followed by doors, jambs, and steel casement (0.5% from 0.6%), electrical works (0.3% from 0.5%) and plumbing fixtures and accessories/waterworks (0.5% from 0.6%).
Meanwhile, slower declines were logged in the following commodity groups: cement (-1.2% from -1.5%), reinforcing steel (-0.7% from -0.9%), structural steel (-1.9% from -2.2%), and fuels and lubricants (-3% from-3.4%).
Mr. Ravelas expects prices to stay soft unless demand picks up in the remainder of the year.
“If interest rates fall further and construction permits rise, we could see a rebound. But for now, it’s a buyer’s market for materials.”
In June, the Monetary Board lowered borrowing costs by 25 basis points (bps) to bring the benchmark rate to 5.25%.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas slashed borrowing costs by a total of 125 bps since it began its easing cycle in August last year. — Heather Caitlin P. Mañago