GROWTH in the bulk prices of general goods eased to a 16-month low in April, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
Citing preliminary data, the PSA said the April general wholesale price index (GWPI) grew 4.3% year on year in April, slowing from 4.8% in March. The year-earlier growth rate had been 8.3%.
The April reading was the lowest since the 4.1% posted in December 2021.
The increase in bulk prices in the first four months averaged 5.7%, decelerating from the year-earlier rate of 6.6%.
The PSA attributed the slowdown in bulk price increases at the national level to the outsized impact of food prices, where growth eased to 9.8% year on year in April from 10.2% in March.
Slowing growth was also noted in beverages and tobacco (5.7% in April from 7.9% in March) and manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials (5.2% from 5.9%).
Of the eight commodity categories, three posted declines. Crude materials, inedible except fuels fell 34.6% in April, against the 35.7% contraction in March.
Wholesale price growth in Luzon and the Visayas eased to 4.2% and 3.6%, respectively, in April. Both locations had readings of 4.7% in March.
Meanwhile, price growth in Mindanao accelerated to 5.9% in April from 5.2% in March. — Thomas Christian S. Migriño
