Lay NCR retaJl prJce growth fastest Jn over two years

THE RETAIL prices of general goods in Metro Manila grew at its fastest pace in over two years in May, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Tuesday.

The general retail price index (GRPI) rose at an annual rate of 2.1% in May, accelerating from the 2% print in April and 0.6% a year earlier.

This was the index’s quickest rise since logging a 2.7% year-on-year growth in April 2019.

Year to date, retail price growth in the National Capital Region (NCR) averaged 1.8% compared with 1.1% in last year’s comparable five months.

The PSA attributed the uptick in May mainly to the higher double-digit annual growth in mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials at 20.3%, from 20.2% in April 2021. These commodities account for around 4.2% of the retail basket in NCR.

Meanwhile, the indices of machinery and transport equipment and miscellaneous manufactured articles both posted a 0.4% growth in May, slightly up from 0.3% in April. These items make up 24.1% and 8.8% of the retail basket, respectively.

Bucking the trend was the slowing price growth of crude materials, inedible except fuels (1.7% from 1.9% in April) and chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats (0.8% from 0.9%).

Compared with the previous month, growth in retail prices remained unchanged for the heavily weighted food index at 1.9%. Other commodities that saw steady growth rates were beverages and tobacco (6.4%) and manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials (1.0%). —