Philippines factory gate prices ease in February

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Producer prices declined at a slightly faster rate in February as electronic and food products posted slower upticks, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Preliminary data showed the Producer Price Index (PPI) for manufacturing contracted by 1.2 percent in February, slightly faster than the 1.1-percent decline in January.

In February last year, the PPI posted a 3.9 percent increase.

PPI measures the average change in the prices of products made by domestic manufacturers and sold at factory gate prices to wholesalers and/or other consumers in the domestic market relative to a base period.

'The faster negative annual growth rate of PPI in February from January was primarily due to the deceleration in the annual growth rate of manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products industry division at 1.2 percent in February from 1.8 percent in January,' the PSA said.

The PSA also said other main contributors to the faster decline were food products and beverages.

Food products, in particular, registered a slower increase of 0.5 percent in February from 0.9 percent in January.

The PSA attributed the lower PPI growth for food products in February primarily to the animal feeds industry group, which declined 2.3 percent during the period from a 0.3 percent increase in January.

Other contributors to the lower PPI for food products were dairy products, which contracted by 0.1 percent in February from an increase of 0.9 percent in the previous month and processing and preserving of fish, crustaceans and mollusks with a faster drop of three percent during the month from 1.5 percent in January.

Beverages had a lower growth rate of 6.2 percent in February from the previous month's seven percent.

Other industry divisions that posted slower growth in February from January are tobacco products, electrical equipment and leather and related products including footwear.

Those with higher growth rates in February compared to January are transport equipment as well as basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations.

Industry divisions with negative growth rates in February are coke and refined petroleum products; basic metals; chemical and chemical products; fabricated metal products except machinery and equipment; other non-metallic mineral products; rubber and plastic products; paper and paper products; other manufacturing and repair and installation of machinery and equipment; wood, bamboo, cane, rattan articles and related products; wearing apparel; printing and reproduction of recorded media; furniture; machinery and equipment except electrical and textiles.