MANILA, Aug 10 (AFP): Philippine economic growth slowed sharply in the second quarter, official data showed Thursday, as high inflation, a drop in government spending and interest rate hikes dampened activity.
Gross domestic product expanded by 4.3 per cent from a year ago, compared with 6.4 per cent in the first three months, figures released by the Philippine Statistics Agency showed.
That was below the median analyst forecast of 6.0 per cent and the slowest since 2011, excluding the years 2020 and 2021 when the Covid-19 pandemic smashed the economy, Bloomberg said.
The government's economic management team said second-quarter growth was underpinned by increased tourism spending and commercial investment.
But the pace was "tempered by high commodity prices, the lagged effects of interest rate hikes, the contraction in government spending, and slower global economic growth", they said in a statement.
Government spending fell by 7.1 per cent from the same period last year when expenditure was inflated by national elections.
The economy grew by 5.3 per cent in the first half, the officials said.
That meant the country's GDP needed to expand by at least 6.6 per cent in the second half to reach the government's full-year growth target of 6-7 per cent, they said.
"Notwithstanding the challenges, we believe this is still attainable," the officials said.
"The improving outlook for inflation bodes well for the easing of interest rates and should pave the way for the expansion of activities of businesses, households, and the rest of the private sector."
