Producer prices in the Philippines rose by 0.8 percent year-on-year in December 2018, unchanged from an upwardly revised figure in the previous month and remaining the lowest reading since April. Cost slowed for petroleum products (9 pct vs 12.9 pct in November); tobacco products (13.7 pct vs 19.7 pct) and basic metals (0.9 pct vs 5.9 pct) and fell further for transport equipment (-0.9 pct vs -0.3 pct) and leather (-17.2 pct vs -6.7 pct). Meanwhile, cost increased at a faster pace for electrical machinery (7.5 pct vs 7 pct); machinery except electrical (12.6 pct vs 10.4 pct); non-metallic mineral (8.2 pct vs 7.7 pct) and fabricated metal products (1.1 pct vs 0.2 pct). Also, prices declined less for rubber & plastic (-2.9 pct vs -3 pct); furniture & fixtures (-7.1 pct vs -7.9 pct) and chemical products (-0.2 pct vs -1.2 pct) while inflation was steady for beverages (at 14.2 pct). On a monthly basis, producer prices fell 0.2 percent, after a 0.1 percent drop in November. Producer Prices Change in Philippines averaged 2.67 percent from 1999 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 17.50 percent in January of 2001 and a record low of -10 percent in March of 2013.
Producer Prices Change in Philippines is expected to be 1.10 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Producer Prices Change in Philippines to stand at 0.50 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Philippines Producer Prices Change is projected to trend around 0.30 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.