THE producer price index (PPI) for manufacturing grew by 1.4 percent in February, slightly higher than the 1.3 percent recorded in January and the 1.1 percent in February 2025, the Philippine Statistics Authority said on Friday.
The increase was attributed to the faster annual rise in the PPI for computer, electronic and optical products, which grew by 2.9 percent in February from 2.7 percent a month earlier.
These products contributed 26.6 percent to the annual manufacturing growth. They also had the second-highest weight in the computation of the PPI among 22 industry divisions in manufacturing.
The manufacture of beverages grew by 1.7 percent in February from 1.1 percent the month before, while metal products increased by 2.6 percent from 2.3 percent.
Of the remaining 19 industry divisions, 13 posted annual growth while six had annual declines.
The top three contributors to the PPI growth rate for manufacturing were computer, electronic and optical products; coke and refined petroleum products; and food products.
Food products had a slower annual increase in February at 1.2 percent from 1.4 percent in the previous month. However, this increase was faster than the 0.6 percent in the previous year.
This was linked to the downtrend in annual growth rates of six of eight industry groups. Vegetable, and animal oils and fats led the list at 6.8 percent in February from 7.6 percent in the previous month.
Meanwhile, annual increases were seen in the processing and preserving of meat, and the manufacture of prepared animal feeds at 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. These were reversals from the annual declines of 0.2 percent and 0.8 percent seen in these areas in January.
The PPI measures the average change over time in selling prices received by domestic producers for their output. It serves as a key inflation indicator by tracking price changes from the perspective of the seller (wholesaler/producer), rather than the consumer, often signaling future consumer price shifts.
