Despite an increase in the Philippines’ general government (GG) debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio to 57.1 percent in 2024, the Marcos Jr. administration is targeting to gradually lower this debt ratio to the 54-percent level by the end of 2028. This was indicated in the national...
Tempered household consumption, still reeling from the pandemic-induced recession, is weighing on the Philippine growth outlook, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). With private consumption—which accounts for more than 70 percent of the local economy—showing “weak momentum,”...
Amid expectations of slower economic growth and lower inflation this year, global investment banking giant Goldman Sachs sees more interest rate cuts by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) Monetary Board (MB) during the next three quarters before pausing its easing cycle. In an Aug. 7 report,...
The Philippines and Southeast Asia may attract foreign investments avoiding China and India if the United States (US) pushes through with its threat of higher tariffs on Indian goods, according to the think tank Capital Economics. “[US] President [Donald] Trump’s threat to impose an additional...
While Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growth showed relative strength in the second quarter, private-sector economists believe it is not strong enough to prevent the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) from further reducing interest rates, as inflation is expected to remain soft and growth...
Trailing behind the Southeast Asian region’s best performer, Vietnam’s eight-percent growth, the Philippine economy expanded by 5.5 percent in the second quarter of 2025, one percentage point (ppt) slower than the 6.5 percent recorded in the same period last year. Data from the Philippine...
Despite the downward adjustment of estimated growth in utilities, financial services, and information and communication technology (ICT), economic expansion in the first three months of 2025 remained unchanged at 5.4 percent. Based on the adjustments made to the preliminary economic data for the...
The Philippine economy is enjoying low inflation and accelerated growth amid a manufacturing rebound plus improved consumer spending in the second quarter of 2025, according to global investment banking giant Goldman Sachs. In an Aug. 1 report obtained by Manila Bulletin, Goldman Sachs Economics...
Private-sector economists expect the Philippine economy to have expanded at a faster pace in the second quarter, compared to the first three months, driven by robust household consumption during the midterm election period, even amid external headwinds. The consensus growth forecast stands at 5.6...
Lower interest rates would spur a faster Philippine economic expansion next year, according to the Washington-based multilateral lender International Monetary Fund (IMF). Referring to its latest forecasts for the Philippines contained in the recently published July 2025 World Economic Outlook (WEO)...
Even with the weaker-than-expected gross domestic product (GDP) growth figures last year and in recent quarters, the Department of Finance (DOF) argued that the Philippine economy grew at an average rate of 5.9 percent—among the fastest-growing Asian economies—since President Ferdinand Marcos...
A five percent economic expansion could be more difficult to achieve this year as Nomura, Japan’s largest investment bank and brokerage group, believes the United States’ (US) higher-than-expected tariffs on Philippine exports could massively weigh on growth. “We think the tariff rates set by...
