Escalation in wholesale costs of general merchandise reached its peak in a year in January as elevated prices following the Christmas festivities carried over into that month.<\/p>\n
Initial statistics from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) indicated that the country’s general wholesale price index (GWPI) climbed 2.9% year-on-year in January, compared to the 2.7% increase documented in December 2024.<\/p>\n
This represented the swiftest pace since the 3.5% rise in January of the previous year.<\/p>\n
Cristina S. Ulang, the research director at First Metro Investment Corp., mentioned in a Viber correspondence that a \u201cJanuary effect\u201d impacted the pricing of commodities.<\/p>\n
\u201cHistorically, there exists the so-called January effect, whereby 40% of the time over the past ten years, general prices of goods have been higher than in the preceding month of December, which corresponds to the holiday period,\u201d Ms. Ulang stated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis reflects the overshoot of price momentum during the seasonally robust phase of consumer spending during Christmas,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
The PSA attributed the rise in wholesale prices in January to crude materials, inedible aside from fuels (58.6% compared to 50.8% in December), chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats (9.9% from 8.7%), beverages and tobacco (2.9% from 2.1%), and machinery and transport equipment (1.3% from 1%).<\/p>\n
Manufactured goods categorized mainly by materials, nonetheless, remained unchanged at 1.1%.<\/p>\n
Mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials transitioned from a 0.8% decline in December to a 0.8% increase in January.<\/p>\n
Growth in food prices softened to 2.3% in January from 2.7% in December, while miscellaneous manufactured items dipped by 0.1% after recording a 0.1% increase in the preceding month.<\/p>\n
By major island group, the GWPI showed varied trends.<\/p>\n
The GWPI of Luzon outpaced the national wholesale price growth rate, recording 3.2% in January, compared to 2.8% in December. This was the fastest since the 3.4% mark recorded a year prior.<\/p>\n
The Visayas GWPI decreased to 1.6% from 1.7% in December 2024, marking the lowest rate since 1.4% in November 2021.<\/p>\n