Expectations of further cuts in key borrowing costs as early as this month have grown stronger, driven by last month’s nearly six-year low inflation and lingering economic threats from United States (US) tariffs. Following the below one-percent headline print in July, private-sector economists...
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced that starting today, Aug. 6, and every Wednesday for the rest of the month, Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) rides will be free for passengers who brought their national IDs with them. Free rides will be available on Wednesdays throughout...
Coupled with an increase in unpaid workers, the number of jobless Filipinos swelled by more than 300,000 to 1.95 million in June from 1.62 million a year ago, with the online gambling sector partly contributing to the pool of unemployed. Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority...
Rice prices dropped at their fastest pace since 1995, bringing consumer price increases to below one percent in July, partly supported by the current administration’s ₱20-per-kilo rice program. Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Undersecretary and National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa...
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...
Despite a muted overall performance, Philippine factory growth observed in June has been sustained through July, with manufacturing firms growing more optimistic about consumer demand for their products. According to the latest data from debt watcher S&P Global released on Friday, Aug. 1, a growth...
The country’s rice production is expected to reach an all-time high this year, as government interventions and improved weather conditions drove strong output in the first half, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA). Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA),...
Philippine goods exports climbed 13.2 percent year-on-year to a record $41.24 billion in the first six months of 2025 as exporters front-loaded shipments ahead of the 19-percent tariff to be imposed by the United States (US), the country’s top export market. National Statistician Claire Dennis S....
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...
Despite an expected onslaught of typhoons in the third quarter, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) anticipates that consumer prices, particularly for rice, will continue to decline, but weather disturbances are expected to drive up vegetable costs. “Certain items, such as vegetables, are...
Central banks in Southeast Asia, where economies like the Philippines export a wide array of goods to the United States (US), are expected to cut interest rates some more as tariffs take effect next month, according to the think tank Capital Economics. In a July 23 report, Capital Economics senior...
Amid trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, China is increasing exports to emerging markets (EMs) like the Philippines, to reroute shipments to the United States (US), think tanks said. “US tariffs appear to have given renewed impetus to Chinese producers’ efforts to export to EMs,...
