Prices of manufactured products rise

MANILA, Philippines–Manufacturers’ prices picked up by 1.6 percent year-on-year in May, according to preliminary results of the National Statistics Office’s (NSO) Producer Price Survey.

The same study showed that the prices in May were higher than the 1.5 percent reported in April.

The NSO said the uptick could be attributed to increases in eight major sectors led by publishing and printing (6.1 percent), petroleum products (5.8 percent) and machinery except electrical (5.8 percent).

The other gainers were rubber and plastics products (5.6 percent), food manufacturing (5.0 percent), transport equipment (4.9 percent), electrical machinery (0.3 percent) and beverages (0.1 percent).

The agency collects actual producer prices of selected products monthly through a nationwide survey. There are 20 major sectors covered by the 2012 survey.

Twelve major sectors posted a decline in prices led by furniture and fixtures (23.8 percent).

The other decliners were wood and wood products (9.2 percent), basic metals (9.1 percent), non-metallic mineral products (5.9 percent), fabricated metal products (2.9 percent), leather products (2.8 percent), chemical products (1.8 percent), footwear and wearing apparel (-1.3 percent), textiles (0.9 percent), miscellaneous manufactures (0.8 percent) and tobacco products (0.6 percent).

However, on a monthly basis, producers’ prices declined 0.2  percent last May from April due to decrease in prices of six major sectors including petroleum products (4.9 percent), basic metals (4.7 percent), fabricated metal products (1.8 percent), chemical products (1.6 percent), transport equipment (0.6 percent) and manufacturing (0.2 percent).

The major sectors that posted month-on-month increases include publishing and printing (6.1 percent), furniture and fixtures (4.5 percent), miscellaneous manufactures (1.7 percent), machinery except electrical (0.8 percent), electrical machinery (0.7 percent), non-metallic mineral products (0.6 percent), rubber and plastic products (0.4 percent), paper and paper products (0.1 percent).

Latest data also showed that manufacturing output increased by 5.5 percent in April on the back of growth in six major sectors including furniture and fixtures, publishing and printing, footwear and wearing apparel, wood and wood products, leather products, and chemical products.

The April figure was slower than the 8.2 percent in March and 6.5 percent in February, but it was above the 1.2 percent growth reported in January after contractions in the last quarter of 2011.

The manufacturing sector is seen as a job generator that can help spread the benefits of economic expansion.