NCR March retail price growth lowest since 2020

RETAIL PRICE growth of general goods in the National Capital Region (NCR) eased to a 58-month low in March, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.

Citing preliminary data, the PSA said price growth in Metro Manila, as measured by the general retail price index (GRPI), slowed to 1.1% year on year in March, from 1.3% in February.

This was also significantly slower than the year-earlier growth rate of 2.1%.

The March indicator was the weakest reading since the 0.6% reported in May 2020.

In the first quarter, GRPI growth averaged 1.2%, cooling from the 2.2% rate a year earlier.

“The primary driver of the slower year-on-year change of the GRPI in NCR was the lower annual increment in the heavily weighted food index at 1.4% during the month from 1.6% in February 2025,” the PSA said.

The food subindex accounts for 37.5% of the GRPI.

The PSA also said that the index of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials also contributed to the GRPI downtrend, decelerating further by 2.6% from a 1.3% decline previously.

Slower price growth was also seen in beverages and tobacco (3.6% from 3.9%), crude materials, inedible except fuels (0.6% from 0.8%), chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats (2.1% from 2.2%), manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials (1.0% from 1.1%), and miscellaneous manufactured articles (1.0% from 1.1%).

Growth rates for the machinery and transport equipment sub-index remained stagnant at 0.2%.

According to the PSA, the GRPI is used as a deflator in the National Accounts, particularly in the retail trade sector, and serves as a basis for forecasting. — Pierve Oei A. Montalvo