Official first-quarter gross domestic product growth (GDP) data will be announced by the Philippine Statistics Authority on Thursday, May 10. IHS Markit Asia Pacific chief economist Rajiv Biswas was the most upbeat, citing factors such as government infrastructure spending and robust consumer demand. “GDP growth in first quarter 2018 is expected to strengthen to 7 percent year-on-year, helped by a strong upturn in government infrastructure spending and robust consumer demand,” he said. Biswas noted that infrastructure spending surged during the quarter, rising by 33.7 percent year-on-year and by 32.7 percent year-on-year in March alone. “Consumer spending likely picked up as the reduction in personal income taxes increased households’ disposable income, allowing consumers to spend more despite higher inflation,” he sad.

Source: Manila Times May 06, 2018 16:30 UTC