Wholesale price of construction materials in NCR eases - NSO

The wholesale price of construction materials in the National Capital Region eased in August, the National Statistics Office said on Wednesday. Compared to July, August prices contracted by 0.1 percent from a 0.3-percent uptick in July. "It resulted from the decline observed in cement index at -1.1 percent in August from -0.7 percent in July; structural steel, -0.4 percent from 0.8 percent; and fuels and lubricants, -0.6 percent from 0.2 percent," the NSO said. Negative growth rates were also seen in the indexes of lumber and reinforcing steel, G.I. sheet and doors, jambs and steel casement. Meanwhile, the annual growth rate of Construction Materials Wholesale Price Index eased to 7.9 percent in August from 8.7 percent in July. --CMA, GMA News