Producers’ prices dipped in August

MANUFACTURERS’ prices went down by 0.8 percent in August due to the decline noted in 13 major sectors, according to preliminary results of the National Statistics Office’s (NSO) Producer Price Survey.

Furniture and fixtures recorded the biggest dip of 35.1 percent, followed by wood and wood products (9.6 percent), basic metals (8.9 percent), electrical machinery (6.6 percent), fabricated metal products (5.1 percent), leather products (3.8 percent) and chemical products (2.4 percent).

Sectors that reported slight rise in prices included food manufacturing up by 7.2 percent; publishing and printing, 6.1 percent; rubber and plastic products, 5.9 percent; machinery except electrical, 4.4 percent; petroleum products, 2.4 percent; and paper and paper products, 1.7 percent.

The agency collects actual producer prices of selected products monthly through a nationwide survey. There are 20 major sectors covered by the survey.

On a monthly basis, producers’ prices went up by 0.4 percent in August after declining by 2.3 percent in July.

The major sectors that posted month-on-month increases include petroleum products (6.5 percent), paper and paper products (2.9 percent), furniture and fixtures (2.3 percent), fabricated metal products (0.9 percent), machinery except electrical (0.8 percent), electrical machinery (0.7 percent), nonmetallic mineral products (0.6 percent), footwear and wearing apparel (0.5 percent).

Latest data showed that manufacturers’ output expanded 4.7 percent in July, a slowdown from the revised 11.2 percent in June as production in electrical machinery, chemical products and non-metallic products decelerated.