Retail prices of construction materials up in Sept

Prices of construction materials in Metro Manila grew slower in September, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.

The Construction Materials Wholesale Price Index (CMWPI) in the National Capital Region (NCR) accelerated by eight percent from 7.9 percent in August to 3.2 percent last month.

Higher annual rates were seen in the indices of the following commodity groups: sand and gravel, concrete products, plywood, lumber, galvanized iron sheets, electrical works, plumbing fixtures and accessories, as well as fuel and lubricants.

Slower annual price increases, meanwhile, were seen in cement, hardware, reinforcing steel, structural steel, doors, jambs, steel casement and painting works.

The rest of the commodity groups had either zero growth or flat growth rates.

CMWPI, which covers 18 commodity groups, is used for the computation of price escalation of construction materials for various government projects as required by the law. It uses 2000 as the base year.

Retail prices of construction materials in NCR, meanwhile, registered flat growth of two percent in September from August.

Slower price growth was seen in the indices of most building materials such as carpentry materials, masonry materials, plumbing materials, electrical materials, tinsmithry materials, and miscellaneous construction materials.

The Construction Materials Retail Price Index (CMRPI) is composed of 102 commodities and classified into seven major groups: carpentry materials, electrical materials, masonry materials, painting materials and related compounds, plumbing materials, tinsmithry materials, and miscellaneous construction materials.

Prices for the CMRPI are collected through personal interviews or actual price quotations from selected sample outlets in NCR. Collection of prices is done during the first to third week of the reference month.