The Philippine economy showed a slight dip in growth during the first quarter, according to government data released on Thursday. While Gross Domestic Product increased by 5.7% from the same period last year, this was below the forecasted 5.9% growth predicted in a Reuters poll. Despite this, Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan remained optimistic about the country’s economic prospects.
According to Balisacan, consumer spending was weaker than expected, which offset the rebound in export growth. However, he highlighted that the strong rebound in exports, particularly in the electronic products sector, was a driving force behind positivity. Balisacan expressed confidence that the economy could still achieve its full-year growth target of 6.0%-7.0%, despite inflation being a concern with domestic demand growing by 4.6% in the first quarter, which is slower than expected.
Inflation has been a challenge for the Philippines in recent years and had even forced it to revise its growth target range last month due to high inflation and an anticipated global economic slowdown. However, Balisacan emphasized that despite these challenges, the Philippine economy continues to show resilience and growth potential on a seasonally adjusted basis. Export growth was another positive aspect of this period, rising by 9.5% from a year earlier – its fastest rate since the fourth quarter of 2022 – making up for some of the sluggishness seen in other areas of economic activity.
Overall, while there have been some setbacks and challenges for the Philippine economy so far this year, it remains on track to show signs of strength and potential for future growth as long as consumer spending picks up and inflation is kept under control.
Balisacan’s optimism about economic growth was tempered by concerns over inflation and weaker consumer spending.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, economic growth slowed down slightly compared to previous quarters but remained positive at 1
