Philippine Economic Growth Fastest In More Than A Year

(RTTNews) - The Philippine economy posted the fastest growth in more than a year in the second quarter underpinned by government spending and investment.

Gross domestic product grew 6.3 percent year-on-year after expanding by revised 5.8 percent in the first quarter, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Thursday.

This was the strongest growth since the first quarter of 2023 and also exceeded economists' forecast of 6.2 percent.

On a quarterly basis, economic growth softened to 0.5 percent in the second quarter. This was weaker than the 0.9 percent expected growth.

On the demand side, household consumption showed a steady growth of 4.6 percent, while government spending growth surged to 10.7 percent.

Investment logged a robust expansion of 11.5 percent after a 0.5 percent gain. At the same time, total exports advanced 4.2 percent and imports moved up 5.2 percent.

The significant growth in the second quarter brings real growth for the first half of the year to 6.0 percent, which keeps the economy on track to achieve growth target of 6-7 percent this year, National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.

Amid evolving risks and challenges, the Philippines' economic outlook remains promising in the near and medium term, Balisacan noted.

Capital Economics' economist Shivaan Tandon said the quarterly growth eased sharply and this below trend growth is likely to persist over the rest of the year as tight monetary policy, slower growth in remittances and soft export demand weighs on activity.