Philippine Producer Prices Rise 0.8%

(RTTNews) - Philippine producer prices increased for the second straight month in February, though at a slower-than-expected pace, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed on Wednesday.

The producer price index rose 0.8 percent year-on-year in February after a 0.7 percent rebound in January. The expected increase was 1.2 percent.

The faster increase in February was mainly due to the acceleration in the annual rate of the price index for the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products industry division, where prices grew 2.9 percent versus a 1.9 percent climb in January.

Similarly, the annual price growth for other manufacturing and repair and installation of machinery and equipment accelerated to 3.0 percent from 1.6 percent.

Of the remaining 19 industry divisions, 13 registered monthly decreases, and five exhibited month-on-month increases, the agency said.

On a monthly basis, producer prices dropped 0.2 percent in February, following a 0.4 percent decrease in the previous month.