Prices of construction materials in NCR remain flat in June- NSO

The wholesale price of construction materials in the country's capital remained flat in June, the National Statistics Office reported on Wednesday. The NSO said wholesale prices of selected construction materials in the National Capital Region was recorded at 0.3 percent in July, the same rate it posted in June. A higher increase was observed in the asphalt index at 5.3 percent in July from zero growth in June; fuels and lubricants, 0.2 percent from -1.2 percent ; sand and grave, 1.3 percent from 0.2 percent; plywood, 0.6 percent from 0.2 percent; electrical works, 0.5 percent from 0.1 percent; and tileworks, 0.7 percent from 0.4 percent. Slower monthly gains, meanwhile, were seen in the indexes of structural steel and painting works, while wholesale prices of cement index and the rest of the commodity groups declined. Annually, growth rate of the Construction Materials Wholesale Price Index (CMWPI) in NCR climbed 8.7 percent in July from 8.4 percent in June. "This can be attributed to higher annual adjustment registered in the index of asphalt at 20 percent in July from 13.9 percent in June; fuels and lubricants, 19.8 percent from 18.7 percent; sand and gravel, 8.0 percent from 7.1 percent; tileworks, 4.3 percent from 3.6 percent; plywood, 12.0 percent from 11.3 percent; structural steel, 9.3 percent from 8.9 percent; electrical works, 8.2 percent from 7.8 percent; and concrete products, 7.6 percent from 7.2 percent," the NSO said. Slower annual rates were noted in the indexes of lumber, G.I. sheet, reinforcing steel, hardware, and painting works. CMA/OMG, GMA News