CONSTRUCTION workers labor at a building site in Manila. Labor groups and government officials continue to push for updated tax relief measures to aid middle-class and daily-wage workers amid rising costs of living.
PHOTOGRAPH by aram lascano for DAILY TRIBUNE
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Construction material prices in Metro Manila rose faster in July as the annual growth rate of the Construction Materials Wholesale Price Index (CMWPI) climbed to 3.5 percent from 2.9 percent in June, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported.
The increase was led by concrete products, whose annual growth accelerated to 5.2 percent from 4.1 percent. Faster price increases were also recorded for sand and gravel, cement, tileworks, painting works, doors and steel casements, and PVC pipes.
The index for painting works posted the fastest annual increase at 8.6 percent, up from 5.3 percent in June, followed by concrete products at 5.2 percent and sand and gravel at 5.1 percent.
Metal products and glass and glass products also shifted to annual increases of 0.3 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively, from unchanged rates in the previous month.
Meanwhile, prices of hardware, lumber, G.I. sheets, reinforcing steel, electrical works, plumbing fixtures and fuels grew at slower rates than in June.
