PH economy grows 6.9%
The Philippine economy as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a faster-than-expected 6.9 percent in the third quarter, making it one of Asia’s fastest growing.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said the GDP expansion was a “spectacular growth rate after an election year.” GDP is the total value of goods produced and services rendered in a given period.
The year-on-year growth, which outpaced China’s 6.8 percent but trailed Vietnam’s 7.5 percent in the same period, was driven by strong industrial and services output, the National Statistics Office said on Thursday.
The growth in the July-September quarter surpassed a market consensus forecast of 6.6 percent and was an improvement on 6.7 percent growth in April-June.
It was, however, slightly lower than the 7.1 percent growth in July-September last year, just after the May elections.
As a result of the better-than-expected growth, the peso strengthened to 50.9:$1 on Thursday from 51.04:$1 on Wednesday.
Overall, “we attribute the country’s growth performance to sustained strong growth in exports and improvements in public spending, which then boosted the manufacturing subsector and the services sector,” Pernia said in a media briefing.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque attributed the growth to the “stability” provided by the Duterte administration, which he said helped business in the country grow.
Full-year target
Pernia said the economy was on track to meet the government’s full-year growth target range of 6.5-7.5 percent, supported by higher state spending and improving exports and farm output.
President Duterte inherited a booming economy when he took office in May 2016. So far growth has remained on track, despite the country’s massive poverty, inequality and insurgencies.
On a per-sector basis, services contributed 4.2 percentage points; industry, 2.5 points; and agriculture, a mere 0.2 point.
In the third quarter, services grew 7.1 percent year-on-year, faster than that a year ago and a quarter ago.
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