The increase in retail prices of construction materials in Metro Manila averaged 1.5 percent in 2017, according to the latest data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Thursday.
Based on the Construction Materials Retail Price Index (CMRPI) in the National Capital Region, the average hike in construction-material prices in 2017 was higher than the 1.3 percent posted in 2016.
The highest growth of retail prices was recorded in January and February 2017 at 2.2 percent, while the lowest was in June when the CMRPI grew by only 0.9 percent.
“[The CMRPI] measures the changes in the average retail prices of construction materials,” the PSA said.
The CMRPI tracks the price of 102 commodities classified into seven major groups—carpentry, electrical, masonry, painting and related compounds, plumbing, tinsmithry and miscellaneous construction materials.
In 2017 the commodity group that had the highest increase was masonry materials, which averaged 2.3 percent, higher than the 2 percent posted in 2016. This group included 17 construction commodities.
The group that had the most commodities, electrical materials at 23, also posted a higher increase in prices at 1.3 percent in 2017, from 0.9 percent in 2016.
Only carpentry, as well as painting and other related compounds, posted slower rate of increases in CMRPI at 0.4 percent and 1.1 percent in 2017, from 1.5 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.
Last December PSA data showed the CMRPI posted a 1.7-percent growth, the same rate recorded in the previous month. In December 2016, the annual growth was at 1.8 percent.
Higher annual increments were registered in the indices of plumbing materials at 0.6 percent and miscellaneous construction materials, 9.4 percent.
However, slower annual gains were noted in the indices of carpentry materials at 0.7 percent; masonry materials, 2.6 percent; and tinsmithry materials, 0.8 percent.
“Annual movement in electrical materials index remained at 1.1 percent and painting materials and related compounds index, 1.2 percent,” the PSA said.
Data also showed the month-on-month increase of the CMRPI in the NCR slowed to 0.1 percent in December 2017. The growth in the previous month was registered at 0.4 percent.
The slowdown was largely due to the 0.1-percent decrease still noted in painting materials and related compounds index.
Further, the indices of carpentry materials and tinsmithry materials both recorded a slower growth of 0.1 percent. The index of plumbing materials moved at its previous month’s rate of 0.1 percent, while those for the indices of electrical materials and masonry materials posted zero growth during the month.
“Prices of paints went down in December. Higher prices were, however, observed in common wire and finishing nails, GI pipes, GI sheet and steel bars,” the PSA said.
The CMRPI is computed monthly and comes out 15 days after the reference month.
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza