Philippine Q3 GDP growth ‘much better than consensus forecast’ -Finance Minister

Philippine Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno speaks during an economic briefing following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s first State of the Nation Address, in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines, July 26, 2022. REUTERS/Lisa Marie David/File Photo

MANILA  – Philippine economic growth in the third quarter was “much better than consensus forecast”, the finance minister said on Thursday ahead of the official release of data.

A slew of positive data, including the lowest unemployment rate since the start of pandemic, strong remittance inflows and a rise in reserves supported better than expected gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the July to September period, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno told Reuters.

“All these will be summarized by the higher than expected Q3 GDP growth rate,” Diokno said.

Analysts polled by Reuters forecast third-quarter GDP grew 6.3 percent on an annual basis. Official data will be released at around 0200 GMT.

The Southeast Asian nation’s second-quarter GDP grew 7.5 percent versus a year ago.