Philippines: Economic growth likely recovered to 6% in 2Q19

• The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the economy likely grew by about 6% in 2Q19 after easing to a four-year low of 5.6% in 1Q19.
• BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo told reporters on the sidelines of the 2019 pre-State of the Nation Address (SONA) economic and infrastructure forum the robust consumer spending and a catch up in government spending translated to a higher gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2Q19.
• The budget impasse pulled down the GDP growth to 5.6% in 1Q19 from 6.3% in the 4Q18.
• The administration has adopted a catch-up plan particularly for infrastructure projects under the Build Build Build program as President Duterte only signed the 2019 national budget on 15 Apr 19.
• Economic managers through the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) lowered the GDP growth forecast for 2019 to a range of 6-7% primarily due to the delayed passage of the 2019 national budget.

External Link : https://www.philstar.com/business/2019/07/02/1931132/economic-growth-likely-recovered-6-q2