MANILA, Philippines — The country’s gross domestic product growth will likely accelerate to 5.9 percent in the second quarter from 5.7 percent in the first quarter, supported by high employment, government spending and within-target inflation, according to First Metro Investment Corp. and University of Asia and the Pacific .
While the two institutions expect inflation to quicken in the second quarter to average 3.9 percent from 3.3 percent in the first quarter largely due to base effects, they said this should be closer to three percent by August and the rest of the year as crude oil prices have returned to below $80 per barrel.Average inflation in the first quarter was 3.4 percent, within the government’s two to four percent target.
“As the global economy shows mixed patterns of recovery, we don’t expect exports to exceed 10 percent full-year growth in 2024,” FMIC and UA&P said. The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday raised its 2024 growth forecast for China to 5%, citing recent policy moves by...“There have been reports that Thailand is contemplating a gaming law but we have no idea what form it will be. It is...