Q2 growth likely quickened

While the Philippine peso is expected to weaken further due to pressure from the latest central bank easing and ongoing Israel-Iran tensions, the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) has projected that second-quarter economic growth accelerated faster than in the first quarter on still-tame inflation and faster job expansion.

- By DERCO ROSAL

"Economic indicators flashed slightly more positive signals, and so we expect the second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth to improve to 5.6 percent year-on-year," UA&P senior economist Victor Abola and research assistant Marco Antonio Agonia said in the latest edition of its monthly economic commentary titled "The Market Call," published on June 23.

The Philippine economy expanded by 5.4 percent in the first quarter, slightly faster than the previous quarter’s 5.3 percent, but slower than the 5.7 percent seen in the same period last year. A 5.6-percent growth in the second quarter means faster acceleration.

But this would mean a failure if measured against the government’s target of six to eight percent for 2025.