Think tank: PH inflation to hit 5-year low

Inflation would likely fall to a five-year low in 2025, providing policy space for more interest rate cuts supportive of economic growth, according to the think tank Capital Economics.

- By BEN ARNOLD DE VERA

"We expect GDP [gross domestic product] growth in the Philippines to remain relatively strong in 2025, helped by policy loosening from the central bank," Capital Economics senior Asia economist Gareth Leather said in an April 30 report.

Capital Economics forecasts Philippine GDP expansion of six percent this year—at the lower end of the government's more ambitious sixto eight-percent target, after last year's below-expectations 5.7 percent.

The think tank's expectation of faster Philippine growth in 2025 would buck the trend of slowing down by "a little" for most Asian countries.

"We expect weak economic growth and falling food price inflation to keep headline and core inflation across Asia low," said Leather.