MANILA – The producer price index (PPI) for manufacturing declined at a faster pace in February this year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Tuesday.
In a report, the PSA said the PPI for manufacturing declined by 1.2 percent in February, slightly faster than the 1.1 percent decrease in January.
In February 2023, the PPI posted an annual increment of 3.9 percent.
"The faster negative annual growth rate of PPI in February 2024 from January 2024 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 2024 from 1.8 percent in January 2024," said the PSA.
The PSA said other contributors to the faster decline of the PPI were the deceleration in the annual rates of the manufacture of food products at 0.5 percent in February 2024 from -0.9 percent in January 2024, and the manufacture of beverages at 6.2 percent from 7.0 percent annual increase the previous month.
Month-on-month, the PPI for manufacturing declined by 0.2 percent from a 1.1 percent monthly decline in January 2024.
The top contributor to the slower monthly decrement of the PPI was the manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment, with a monthly drop of 0.1 percent from a 2.8 percent decline in January.
The PPI is generated from the results of the Producer Price Survey, which is conducted nationwide.
It measures the average change over time in the prices of products or commodities produced by domestic manufacturers and sold at factory gate prices to wholesalers and/or other consumers in the domestic market. (PNA)
