Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno told reporters that the inter-agency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) was looking to keep the 2018 gross domestic product (GDP) goal at 7.0-8.0 percent even though this was unlikely to be achieved. Diokno said the DBCC would also probably maintain its 2018 inflation forecast of 4.0-4.5 percent, which it adopted during its last meeting in lieu of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 2.0-4.0 percent target. Budget deficit targets, meanwhile, are also likely to be retained by economic managers. The budget deficit rose to P282 billion as of end-August, higher than the P176.2 billion recorded in the comparative 2017 period but still well below the full-year target. Aside from the inflation and deficit targets, the DBCC also trimmed its imports and exports growth assumptions to 10 percent and 9 percent, from 11 percent and 10 percent previously, when it last met in July.

Source: Manila Times October 01, 2018 17:23 UTC