Producer price index growth slows to 0.9%

THE producer price index (PPI) for manufacturing saw growth slow to 0.9 percent in March, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Wednesday.

The indicator — a measure of the average change in prices received by producers for their goods — eased from 0.9 percent in February, but rebounded from the 1.2-percent contraction recorded in March last year.

The slowdown, the PSA said, was driven by a deceleration in computer, electronic and optical manufacturing to 1.3 percent from 2.1 percent a month earlier.

This category, which had the second-highest weight in the computation of the PPI, was said to have contributed 38.6 percent to the March slowdown.

Also contributing were slower growth in the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products (1.6 percent from 2.9 percent), and other manufacturing, and repair and installation of machinery and equipment (1.6 percent from 3.0 percent).

Of the remaining 19 industry divisions, 14 posted growth while five contracted, the PSA said.

Month on month, PPI growth contracted by 0.1 percent, improving slightly from -0.2 percent in February but reversing from the year-earlier 0.1 percent.

Computer, electronic and optical products manufacturing was again the main contributor, the PSA said, with a 0.4-percent decline that was better than February's -0.9 percent.

Rounding out the top three contributors were the manufacture of food products (up 0.3 percent from 0.03 percent a month earlier) and basic metals (-0.2 percent from -0.7 percent).

The three industry divisions contributed 75.5 percent to the slower month-on-month PPI decline, the PSA said.

Of the remaining 19 industries, 13 contracted, four grew and two were unchanged.