The Philippine economy grew year-on-year in the third quarter thanks to improvements in various industries.
The country’s gross domestic product rose 5.9% in the July-September period after growing 4.3% in the previous quarter, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed on Thursday.
The figure exceeds the average forecast of 4.5 percent growth from a Wall Street Journal economist survey.
Compared to the previous quarter, GDP rose by a seasonally adjusted 3.3%.
The data showed that output from the services sector, which includes goods trade and generally accounts for more than half of the economy, rose 6.8% in the third quarter from a year earlier. The industrial sector, including manufacturing and construction, grew 5.5%, while the agricultural sector grew 0.9%.
Some economists expect growth to be sluggish in the coming months due to weaker external demand and high interest rates.
At the end of October, the country’s central bank raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 6.50% at an extra-cyclical meeting to curb high inflation. The consumer price index rose 4.9% in October from a year earlier, above the central bank’s inflation target range of 2% to 4%, compared with a 6.1% rise in September.
Write to Kosaku Narioka at [email protected]
By Kosaku Narioka
The Philippine economy grew year-on-year in the third quarter thanks to improvements in various industries.
The country’s gross domestic product rose 5.9% in the July-September period after growing 4.3% in the previous quarter, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed on Thursday.
The figure exceeds the average forecast of 4.5 percent growth from a Wall Street Journal economist survey.
Compared to the previous quarter, GDP rose by a seasonally adjusted 3.3%.
The data showed that output from the services sector, which includes goods trade and generally accounts for more than half of the economy, rose 6.8% in the third quarter from a year earlier. The industrial sector, including manufacturing and construction, grew 5.5%, while the agricultural sector grew 0.9%.
Growth in the third quarter was driven by household consumption, government spending and exports of goods and services, the government agency said.
Some economists expect growth to be sluggish in the coming months due to weaker external demand and high interest rates.
At the end of October, the country’s central bank raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 6.50% at an extra-cyclical meeting to curb high inflation. The consumer price index rose 4.9% in October from a year earlier, above the central bank’s inflation target range of 2% to 4%, compared with a 6.1% rise in September.
Write to Kosaku Narioka at [email protected]
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