Retail prices of construction materials in Metro Manila picked up at a slower pace in May, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
The Construction Materials Retail Price Index (CMRPI) in the National Capital Region moved upward to 1.2 percent, slower than the 1.3 percent in April.
However, It is much faster than the one percent recorded in May of last year.
The slower uptick indicated continued returning but tamed demand for construction activities during the month especially as Metro Manila was just coming from the strictest lockdown.
Annual increments were only faster in the indexes of electrical materials at 0.8 percent and miscellaneous construction materials at 1.5 percent.
Carpentry and masonry materials, on the other hand, both went down to 1.5 percent.
The indexes of tinsmithry, plumbing, and painting materials retained their previous month’s rate at 1.8 percent, 0.7 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.
The CMRPI is a variant of the General Retail Price Index (GRPI) that measures the changes in the average retail prices of construction materials. It covers 102 building materials classified into seven commodity groups.