The overall Wholesale Price Index (WPI) in Palestine with its base year (2007=100) reached 125.09 in the second quarter of 2016, which indicates an increase by 1.01% in comparison with the first quarter of 2016.

The WPI for local products (2007=100) reached 127.40 in the second quarter 2016, which indicates an increase by 1.94% in comparison with the first quarter of 2016.

Moreover, the WPI for imported products (2007=100) reached 121.63 in the second quarter 2016, which indicates an increase by 0.96% in comparison with the first quarter of 2016.

The changes in the WPI in the second quarter of 2016 are traced back to the increase in the prices of goods within the manufacturing activity by 1.19%, which formed 70.00% of the goods basket. There was an increase in the prices of some fabrics by 7.80%, the prices of glass and its products by 4.58%, the prices of ready-made garments by 4.32%, the prices of bakery goods by 4.26%, the prices of leather products by 2.71%, the prices of non-metal products by 2.66%, the prices of paper and its products by 2.63%, the prices of soft drinks by 2.60%, the prices of tobacco and cigarettes by 2.48%, and the prices of wood and its products by 1.27%.

On the other hand, a decrease was recorded in the prices of cement and gypsum products by 3.08%, the prices of meat and its products by 2.99%, the prices of dairy products by 2.57%, the prices of rubber and plastic products by 2.44%, the prices of plant and animal fats and oils by 1.23%, the prices of metals (excluding machinery and equipment) by 0.83%, the prices of chemical products by 0.71%, and the prices of textiles by 0.68%.

The prices of goods within the agriculture activity increased by 0.68% and formed 29.00% of the goods basket. This resulted from the increase in the prices of goods within the animal husbandry activity by 1.53%; the prices of live animals increased by 3.63%, while the prices of animal products decreased by 3.45%. Additionally, there was an increase by 0.22% in the prices of goods within the cropping activity. The prices of fresh vegetables increased by 6.60%, whereas the prices of fresh and dried vegetables decreased by 1.86%, and the prices of dried grains and legumes decreased by 1.76%.

Moreover, the prices of goods within the fishing activity increased by 5.52% and formed 0.10% of the goods basket.

The prices of products within the mining and quarrying activities decreased by 2.30% and formed 0.90% of the goods basket.

(Palestine Economy Portal)