MANILA, Philippines — The World Bank on Friday slashed its growth forecasts on the Philippine economy to “reflect recent economic trends.”In a statement, the Washington-based multilateral lender said it trimmed its growth projections for the Philippines to 6.4 percent in 2018 from 6.5 percent, and to 6.5 percent in 2019 from 6.7 percent. If realized, World Bank’s updated estimates would fall below the low-end of the government’s downwardly revised 6.5-6.9 percent goal for this year, and 7-8 percent growth target in 2019 until 2022. “A strong, consistent delivery of the infrastructure investment agenda while sustaining improvements in health, education and social protection will be key to maintaining the robust and inclusive growth outlook of the Philippines,” World Bank senior economist Rong Qian said. A recent central bank survey showed Filipino consumers and businesses turned less optimistic in the fourth quarter of the year due to sluggish economic growth last quarter, as well as stubbornly high inflation and tighter monetary policy. READ: Consumer, business optimism dips on inflation, hikesAccording to World Bank, a “moderation” in inflation in the next quarters would boost consumer confidence and raise private consumption in 2019.

Source: Philippine Star December 21, 2018 06:03 UTC