High inflation and borrowing costs slowed down the first-quarter growth of the Philippine economy, causing the “Bongbong” Marcos’s government to miss its target.
Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5.7% year-on-year in the first quarter, faster than the revised 5.5% expansion in the fourth quarter of 2023. However, this is slower than the administration’s 6-7% target.
Secretary Arsenio Balisacan of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) says that persistently high prices and the anti-inflation interest rate hikes have crimped household and state spending in the country.
Latest data shows inflation quickened to 3.8% in April, from 3.7% in March, on the back of high food prices amid the El Niño heatwave and high transport costs.
Analysts expect the price hikes likely prompt the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to keep its policy rate unchanged at a 17-year high of 6.5% in its upcoming policy-making Monetary Board meeting.
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