Unlike last year as well, inflation is fast becoming a problem in an already weakened economy. The combo of stagnation and fast inflation meets the technical definition of “stagflation,” but Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua would not call it that just yet. For one, Ruben Carlo Asuncion, chief economist at UnionBank of the Philippines, said growth drivers have not yet performed at their pre-pandemic levels. Household spending, which typically represents 70% of output, shrank 4.8% year-on-year from around 4-5% growth in normal times. However, industries as well as services, home to the Philippines’ large outsourcing sector, collapsed a larger 4.7% and 4.4%, respectively.

Source: Philippine Star May 11, 2021 02:11 UTC