Phl Seen Growing Below Gov't Target

United Kingdom-based think tank Pantheon Macroeconomics is keeping its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for the Philippines at 5.3 percent this year as it expects economic growth to slow in the second half.

- By Louella Desiderio

"We reiterate our below-consensus 5.3 percent forecast for 2025, implying a renewed slowdown in the second half," Pantheon Macroeconomics chief emerging Asia economist Miguel Chanco and Asia economist Meekita Gupta said in a report.

Pantheon Macroeconomics' forecast is below the government's 5.5 to 6.5 percent growth target for the year.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the economy grew at a slightly faster pace of 5.5 percent in the second quarter compared with the previous quarter's 5.4 percent.

The second quarter growth performance, however, was slower than the 6.5 percent expansion in the same quarter last year.

The latest growth outturn brought the average growth in the first half to 5.4 percent.