WHOLESALE prices of commodities sold in the Philippines fell for the eighth consecutive month in July, according the latest report from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Data released by the PSA on Friday showed that the General Wholesale Price Index (GWPI) in July contracted by 3.7 percent compared to a 3.4-percent increase posted in the same period last year. The GWPI has been declining since December 2014.
“The continuous decline was attributed to the double-digit decrease of 27.7 percent recorded in the mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials index,” the PSA said.
The double-digit decline in wholesale fuel prices failed to prop up the July GWPI, despite the increase in the prices of other commodities.
Data showed that wholesale food prices grew 5 percent; beverages and tobacco, 8.9 percent; crude materials, inedible except fuels, 3.3 percent; chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats, 3.6 percent; and miscellaneous manufactured articles, 2.4 percent.
In Luzon the GWPI fell by 4.1 percent as the mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials index further went down by 28 percent.
In the Visayas the GWPI declined by 1.9 percent in July as the crude materials, inedible except fuels index contracted 3 percent and the mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials index went down by 26 percent.
A similar trend was seen in the GWPI in Mindanao, as its annual adjustment dropped by 2.2 percent in July. This was due to the 23.8-percent contraction in the mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials index. On a monthly basis, the GWPI also contracted 0.2 percent in July on the back of cheaper fuel and transportation prices.
Data showed that crude materials, inedible except fuels contracted 0.3 percent; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, 3.4 percent; and machinery and transport equipment, 0.5 percent.
“A series of price rollbacks in gasoline, diesel and kerosene pushed down the mineral fuels, lubricants and related material index in Luzon by 3.2 percent; the Visayas, -6.2 percent; and Mindanao, -2.1 percent. At the national level, the group’s index dropped by 3.4 percent,” the PSA said.
The GWPI is an indicator designed to measure the changes in the price levels of commodities that flow into the wholesale trade intermediaries.
Wholesale price refers to the price of commodity transacted in bulk for further resale or processing.
It is the actual “spot” transaction price received usually by the wholesalers, distributors or marketing agents for large lots but net of discounts, allowances and rebates.
It is also the sum of the producer price, wholesale trade margin, tax mark-ups and distribution cost of the wholesaler.