PH economy expands 5.2% in the third quarter

FILE PHOTO: Makati Skyline. INQUIRER/GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

The Philippine economy grew by 5.2 percent in the third quarter of the year, sharply slower than the revised 6.4 percent growth in the previous quarter, mainly due to weather disruptions which hampered various sectors, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Thursday.

The third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth placed well below the government’s 6 to 7 percent target for the year, marking the lowest expansion since the 4.3 percent in the second quarter last year.

READ: Q2 growth revised to 6.4% from 6.3%

This was also lower than the 5.9 percent average forecast in an Inquirer poll of nine economists conducted last week.

National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Baliscan said that the economy needs to grow by 6.5 percent more in the last quarter of the year to achieve the Marcos administration’s growth target.

The PSA attributed the expansion from the wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles which grew by 5.2 percent. This was followed by activities in the financial and insurance sector at 8.8 percent and construction at 9 percent.

In terms of demand, household final consumption accelerated by 5.1 percent, faster than the 4.7 percent in the second quarter but remains unchanged compared with last year.

Meanwhile, state spending eased by 5 percent from the double-digit growth of 11.9 percent in the previous quarter and 6.7 percent a year ago.

This was the slowest since the 1.7 percent in the first three months.

Gross capital formation, the investment component of the economy, accelerated by 13.1 percent from 11.6 percent in the April-to-June period and a turnaround from the 0.3 percent shortfall last year.

Net primary income from the rest of the world placed at 19.3 percent, easing from 25.7 percent in the previous quarter and the 112.6 percent growth a year ago.