Wholesale prices of construction materials rise slower in June

Manila, Philippines -  Wholesale prices of construction materials in Metro Manila rose at a slower pace in June from the previous month amid a decline in prices of fuels and lubricants and slower increases in prices of most materials, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said.

The NSO said in a report on Friday that the year-on-year increase in the Construction Materials Wholesale Price Index (CMWPI) in the National Capital Region was at a slower rate of 2.4 percent in June from 3.6 percent in May.

“This was mainly effected by the annual decrease registered in the index of fuels and lubricants at -1.9 percent from 3.6 percent,” it said.

Slower annual increments in other commodity groups, it said, were also observed for the period.

It noted that sand and gravel prices went up at a slower rate of nine percent from 9.2 percent, while prices of concrete products rose by 2.7 percent from 3.1 percent.

Wholesale prices of hardware went up 2.5 percent from 3.6 percent, while plywood prices climbed four percent from 4.2 percent.

A slower growth of three percent was seen in prices of reinforcing steel in June compared to the 3.9 percent uptick in May, while prices of structural steel was up five percent in June from the previous month’s 6.1 percent.

Prices of tileworks increased 4.1 percent in June from the previous month’s 4.6 percent.

Wholesale prices of doors, jambs and steel casement were up 3.7 percent in June compared to 3.8 percent in May, while asphalt prices rose at a slower rate of 3.1 percent in June from the prior month’s 8.6 percent.

Meanwhile, higher annual increases were seen in the indices of cement, glass and glass products, electrical works, plumbing fixtures and accessories or waterworks, and painting works.

The NSO said that month-on-month, the CMWPI continued to drop to -0.8 percent in June from -0.3 percent in May.

It cited that the index for fuels and lubricants declined by -6.4 percent in June from the previous month’s -3.2 percent while the doors, jambs and steel casement index was at -0.1 percent in June from zero growth in May.

A slowdown, it said, was likewise seen in the monthly uptick of reinforcing steel index at 0.4 percent from 0.7 percent; glass and glass products index, at 0.1 percent, from 0.2 percent; and electrical works index at 0.3 percent from 0.5 percent.

“The downward trend in the CMWPI was due to the series of price rollbacks in gasoline and diesel oil along with the lower prices of some PVC doors,” the NSO said.

It added that prices of cements and paints meanwhile, were higher during the month.