Costs of consumer products fall in November last year as the country’s financial managers tame inflation. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

The annual increase of the wholesale prices of goods dipped to 5.7 percent in November of last year mainly due to the drop in crude materials, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.

The annual rate in October was at 8.5 percent, and 4.4 percent in November 2017.

“The annual movement in crude materials, inedible except fuels index dropped by 24.8 percent,” the PSA said in its latest General Wholesale Price Index (GWPI) report for November 2018.

Also weighing in was the decline in annual gains recorded in other commodity groups such as food (down by 1.9 percent); beverages and tobacco (down 17.6 percent); mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (down 21.8 percent).

Yearly gains in chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats; machinery and transport equipment, and miscellaneous manufactured articles also slowed down.

A 2.7 percent increase, meanwhile, was recorded in manufactured goods.

In Luzon, the annual GWPI growth eased to 6.2 percent in November from October’s 9.0 percent, but remains higher than November 2017’s 4.2 percent.

“Annual declines were registered in the indices of crude materials, inedible except fuels at 2.7 percent, and chemicals including animal and vegetable oils and fats at 0.5 percent,” the PSA stated.

PSA recorded slower annual gains in the indices of the same commodity groups as the national level.

Meanwhile, the GWPI in Visayas also climbed at a slower pace of 4.2 percent in November, compared to the annual rate in October which was at 6.8 percent. PSA noted that the indices of machinery and transport equipment, as well as miscellaneous manufactured articles retained a monthly rate of 0.2 percent in Visayas.

Year-on-year, Mindanao’s GWPI also slowed down to 3.2 percent in November 2018, from the 6.2 percent rate recorded in October.

On a monthly basis, PSA said that the wholesale prices of petroleum products such as crude petroleum oil, gasoline, kerosene, diesel oil, bunker fuel oil and LPG decreased enough to pull down the country’s index by 6.5 percent.

“This factor pushed down the index of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials by 6.4 percent in Luzon; by 7.6 percent in Visayas; and by 7.1 percent in Mindanao,” PSA also said.