MANILA, Philippines — Retail prices of goods in Metro Manila in September posted their slowest growth rate in over four years due to the decline in fuel prices.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the General Retail Price Index (GRPI) growth in the National Capital Region (NCR) eased to 1.2 percent in September from 1.4 percent in the previous month.
This is the lowest GRPI growth since the 0.6-percent uptick posted in May 2020.
GRPI growth in September was also slower than the 3.6- percent increase posted in the same month last year.
“The primary contributor to the deceleration in the annual growth rate of GRPI in NCR was the faster annual decrease recorded in the index of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials at 7.5 percent during the month from the 1.6-percent annual drop in August 2024,” the PSA said.
It said the crude materials, inedible except fuels commodity group, was another key contributor to the slower GRPI growth as it registered a slower increase of one percent in September from 1.2 percent in the previous month.
On the other hand, three commodity groups had higher increases.
In particular, beverages and tobacco posted a 3.5-percent growth in September from the 2.4-percent increase in August.
Chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats registered a 2.4-percent uptick in September from the previous month’s 2.2-percent growth.
Manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials also had a slightly higher growth of 1.3 percent in September from 1.2 percent in August.
Meanwhile, the rest of the commodity groups retained their previous month’s growth rates in September such as food; machinery and transport equipment; and miscellaneous manufactured articles.
The average GRPI growth in NCR for the January to September period was 1.9 percent.