Producer prices slowed for a fifth consecutive month in February, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Thursday, expanding by 3.6 percent in February from January's 4.4 percent.Growth a year earlier was also 4.4 percent.The PSA said the year-on-year drop was mainly due to a 'slower annual increase in the index of manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products', which expanded by just 4.2 percent compared to January's 7.8 percent.'The manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products contributed 39.3 percent to the slower annual growth rate of the PPI for the manufacturing sector in February 2023,' the agency said.'Out of the 22 industry divisions for the manufacturing sector, this industry division has the fifth highest weight in the computation of PPI,' it added.Other industries that contributed to the slowdown were the manufacture of transport equipment (-1.7 percent from -0.7 percent) and manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products (5.5 percent from 8.0 percent).Twelve other industry divisions posted price slowdowns while basic metals contracted, the PSA said.On the other hand, the manufacture of beverages (5.1 percent from 4.9 percent) led the three industry divisions that saw greater year on year growth.Fabricated metal products except machinery and equipment, tobacco products, and wood, bamboo, cane, rattan articles and related products were unchanged.Month on month, the PPI for manufacturing contracted by 0.02 percent in February, reversing from the 0.3 percent growth seen in January.'The monthly decrement of PPI in February 2023 was mainly contributed by the lower monthly growth rate in the index of manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products at 0.3 percent,' the PSA said.'This industry division contributed 31.3 percent to the downtrend in the monthly growth rate of the PPI for the manufacturing sector in February 2023,' it added.
