THE wholesale prices of goods picked up at a faster rate in September from the previous month, with chemicals and food posting the biggest increases, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

Data from the PSA showed growth in the general wholesale price index (GWPI) at the national level went up to 8.2 percent in September from the 7.6 percent in July.

It was likewise higher than the 3.3-percent growth rate recorded in the same month last year.

“The increase was primarily brought about by the higher annual uptick in the index for chemicals including animal, and vegetable oils and fats at 5.1 percent, from 2.7 percent in August 2022,” PSA said.

Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials posted the biggest annual increment of 38.9 percent in September.

The index for food also had a double-digit annual increase at 12.9 percent.

Annual increases were also noted in manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials (4.3 percent) and miscellaneous manufactured articles (3.3 percent).

Crude materials, inedible except fuels posted a decline of 4.7 percent in September. This compares to its annual drop of 5.8 percent in August 2022.

Meanwhile, annual growth rate for beverages and tobacco, and machinery and transport equipment eased at 8.4 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.

Similar to the national level, GWPI in Luzon registered faster annual growth rate of 8.5 percent in September compared to 8.0 percent a month earlier.

The PSA said the uptrend in Luzon’s GWPI was due to upticks recorded in animal, and vegetable oils and fats; food; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials; manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials; and miscellaneous manufactured articles.

In the Visayas, the growth in GWPI rose further to 6.9 percent from 6.2 percent.

As for Mindanao, growth in GWPI eased to 4.0 percent from 4.3 percent, largely due to the downtrend in food index and slower annual increments posted in the indices of crude materials, inedible except fuels; and mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials.