Factory gate prices pick up in November

MANILA, Philippines — Factory gate prices returned to expansion mode in November, largely driven by the manufacture of computers and electronic products, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

Latest data from PSA showed the Producer Price Index (PPI) for November increased by 0.3 percent from the 0.4-percent decline in October.

Same period last year, the index rose by 6.4 percent.

The PPI measures the average change in the prices of products made by domestic manufacturers and sold at factory gate prices to wholesalers and other consumers in the domestic market relative to a base period.

The PSA attributed the upturn of PPI to the acceleration of the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products at 2.7 percent in November, contributing 47 percent to the overall expansion.

Among the 22 industry divisions, the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products has the second highest weight in the PPI. 

Other contributors to the uptrend were the increase in manufacture of food products at 1.2 percent and the slower decline in the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products at 5.9 percent.

Of the remaining 19 industry divisions, seven exhibited annual increases while 12 registered annual decreases during the month. 

Growth was likewise recorded in the manufacture of beverages, fabricated metal products, tobacco products, furniture, leather products, printing and reproduction of media, and machinery and equipment. 

Apart from the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products, notable declines were seen in chemical products, wearing apparel, basic metals, and transport equipment.