By Kosaku Narioka
The Philippine economy grew in the third quarter from a year earlier, thanks to improvement in various industries.
The country’s gross domestic product rose 5.9% in the July-September period, following a 4.3% expansion the previous quarter, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed Thursday.
The reading exceeds the median forecast for a 4.5% growth taken from a poll of economists by The Wall Street Journal.
Compared with the previous quarter, GDP gained 3.3%on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Services-sector output, which includes trade of goods and generally makes up more than half of the economy, rose 6.8% in the third quarter from a year earlier, the data showed. The industry sector, including manufacturing and construction, grew 5.5%, while the agriculture sector expanded 0.9%.
Some economists expect growth to be sluggish in the coming months due to weaker external demand and high interest rates.
In late October, the country’s central bank raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 6.50% at an off-cycle meeting to rein in high inflation. The consumer-price index in October rose 4.9% from a year earlier, above the central bank’s inflation target range of 2%-4% and compared with a 6.1% increase in September.
Write to Kosaku Narioka at [email protected]
By Kosaku Narioka
The Philippine economy grew in the third quarter from a year earlier, thanks to improvement in various industries.
The country’s gross domestic product rose 5.9% in the July-September period, following a 4.3% expansion the previous quarter, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed Thursday.
The reading exceeds the median forecast for a 4.5% growth taken from a poll of economists by The Wall Street Journal.
Compared with the previous quarter, GDP gained 3.3%on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Services-sector output, which includes trade of goods and generally makes up more than half of the economy, rose 6.8% in the third quarter from a year earlier, the data showed. The industry sector, including manufacturing and construction, grew 5.5%, while the agriculture sector expanded 0.9%.
Third-quarter growth was driven by household consumption, government spending, as well as 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.
In late October, the country’s central bank raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 6.50% at an off-cycle meeting to rein in high inflation. The consumer-price index in October rose 4.9% from a year earlier, above the central bank’s inflation target range of 2%-4% and compared with a 6.1% increase in September.
Write to Kosaku Narioka at [email protected]
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