Wholesale construction prices in NCR up in July

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported wholesale prices of construction materials in the National Capital Region (NCR) in July.

Data released by the PSA last week showed that the construction materials wholesale price index (CMWPI) in the NCR rose by 3.5 percent in July from 2.9 percent in the previous month.

The PSA attributed the uptrend to concrete products, which experienced an accelerated price increase of 5.2 percent in July, compared to 4.1 percent in June.

Higher annual growth rates were also recorded in the indices of sand and gravel, cement, tileworks, doors, jambs, and steel casement, painting works, and polyvinyl chloride pipes.

Slower annual increases, however, were seen in commodity groups, such as hardware, lumber, GI sheet, reinforcing steel, electrical works, plumbing fixtures and accessories, and fuels and lubricants.

The PSA said the CMWPI is one of the most important economic indicators designed to measure changes in the average wholesale prices of selected construction materials.

It is also used to compute the price escalation of construction materials for various government projects as indicated in Presidential Decree 1594.