RETAIL price growth of general goods in the National Capital Region (NCR) was flat in June, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Monday.
Citing preliminary data, the PSA said growth in the general retail price index (GRPI) in the National Capital Region (NCR) remained at 0.8% in June, unchanged from a month earlier and against the 1.8% growth rate posted a year earlier.
In the first half, NCR retail price growth averaged 1%, against the 2.1% year-earlier rate.
“The fuels subindex remained on a downtrend as a result of lower global oil prices and expectations of lower trading activity,” Reinielle Matt M. Erece, economist at Oikonomia Advisory and Research, Inc., said in an e-mail.
“Crude items are also derivatives of oil output, which may be affected as well,” he added.
Price growth for crude materials, inedible except fuels, slowed to 0.3% from 0.5% in May, marking the weakest growth rate since January 2024.
Mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials sustained declines at 3.2% in June, up from 4.7% in May.
“This is reflective of the overall drop in global oil prices except for the spike last June due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East,” Mr. Erece said.
The heavily weighted food index came in at 1.1% against 1% in May. Price growth in beverages and tobacco accelerated to 3.4% from 3.3%.
The subindices for food and beverages, spirits and tobacco have 37.5% and 4.38% weightings on the index, respectively.
Meanwhile, price growth in miscellaneous manufactured articles cooled to 0.4% from 0.8%. Prices remained stagnant for chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats (2.0%), manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials (0.7%), and machinery and transport equipment (0.2%).
The PSA uses the GRPI as a deflator in the National Accounts, particularly in the retail trade sector, and serves as a basis for forecasting. — Pierce Oel A. Montalvo