ADB keeps PHL growth forecasts for 2024, 2025

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has kept its Philippine economic growth forecasts for this year and 2025, with expansion expected to be driven by easing inflation and lower interest rates.

Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to expand by 6% this year and 6.2% in 2025, the ADB said in its December 2024 Asian Development Outlook report, unchanged from its September forecasts.

Both projections are within the government’s revised GDP growth targets of 6%-6.5% for 2024 and 6%-8% for 2025.

“Household consumption and investment continue to drive the economy with both rising faster in the third quarter. Moderating inflation and monetary policy easing should continue to support growth,” the multilateral lender said in a report on Wednesday.

“On the supply side, buoyant services sector, construction, and manufacturing are contributing to overall growth,” the ADB said.

Services will remain a major growth driver for the Philippines, “with retail trade, tourism, and information technology–business process outsourcing as major contributors,” it added.

“Public infrastructure projects continue to lift growth, along with brisk private construction,” the ADB said.

It expects the Philippines to be the second-fastest growing economy in Southeast Asia this year, behind Vietnam with 6.4% and ahead of Indonesia (5%), Malaysia (5%), Singapore (3.5%), and Thailand (2.6%).

“While Vietnam sees rising foreign investment, other Southeast Asian economies like Indonesia and the Philippines are on track to meet previous growth forecasts,” the ADB said.

“However, geopolitical tensions, trade fragmentation, and severe weather events—such as Typhoon Yagi and Tropical Storm Trami — pose risks to growth, particularly in agriculture and infrastructure,” it added.

A series of storms hit the Philippines in November, resulting in about P10 billion worth of farm damage, according to the Department of Agriculture.

The World Bank on Tuesday trimmed its GDP growth projection for the Philippines to 5.9%, from 6%, reflecting the impact of typhoons.

At the same time, the ADB cut its inflation forecast for the Philippines this year to 3.6% from 3.3%. It kept its inflation projection at 3.2% for 2025.

“Inflation is expected to remain within the central bank’s 2% to 4% target, providing scope for further monetary policy easing,” it said.

Since August, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has cut rates by 50 basis points, bringing the benchmark rate to 6%.

The Monetary Board is set to hold its final policy-setting meeting of the year on Dec. 19.

US POLICY RISKS

Meanwhile, developing Asia is likely to grow more slowly than previously thought this year and next, and the outlook could worsen if President-elect Donald J. Trump makes swift changes to US trade policy, the ADB said.

Developing Asia, which includes 46 Asia-Pacific countries stretching from Georgia to Samoa — and excludes Japan, Australia and New Zealand — is projected to grow 4.9% this year and 4.8% next year, slightly lower than the ADB’s forecasts of 5% and 4.9% in September.

The downgraded growth estimates reflect lackluster economic performance in some economies in the third quarter and a weaker outlook for consumption, the bank said.

Growth forecasts for China remain unchanged at 4.8% for 2024 and 4.5% for 2025, but the ADB lowered its projections for India to 6.5% for 2024 from 7% previously, and to 7% for next year from 7.2%.

“Changes to US trade, fiscal, and immigration policies could dent growth and boost inflation in developing Asia,” the ADB said in its report, though it noted most effects were likely to manifest beyond the 2024-2025 forecast horizon.   

Mr. Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has threatened to impose tariffs in excess of 60% on US imports of Chinese goods, crackdown on illegal migrants, and extend tax cuts.

“Downside risks persist and include faster and larger US policy shifts than currently envisioned, a worsening of geopolitical tensions, and an even weaker PRC (People’s Republic of China) property market,” the ADB said.

It lowered its inflation forecasts for 2024 and 2025 to 2.7% and 2.6%, respectively, from 2.8% and 2.9%, due to softening global commodity prices.

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Source: Business World and ADB

WB trims PH growth forecast

The World Bank (WB) on Tuesday trimmed down its 2024 growth outlook on the Philippines to a level that’s short of the government’s target, with powerful typhoons emerging as a major threat to the economy and poverty reduction.

In its latest Philippines Economic Update, the WB said gross domestic product (GDP) this year would grow by 5.9 percent, lower than the previous forecast of 6 percent.

If the watered-down projection of the Washington-based institution comes to pass, GDP expansion in 2024 would fail to hit the 6 to 6.5 percent target range of the Marcos administration for this year.

WB said the downgrade was triggered by the below-market consensus growth of 5.2 percent in the three months ending in September, which was the weakest reading in more than a year following the onslaught of storms that disrupted government spending and damaged farm output.

Overall, WB said climate disasters were a big threat not just to growth but also to poverty reduction. Using the $3.65 per day benchmark, latest WB projections showed that poverty incidence would unlikely drop to single-digit levels by 2026, although a downward trend would be sustained.

”Household income vulnerability, particularly high exposure and vulnerability to climate disasters, may undermine the potential for continued poverty reduction,” the bank said.

”These weather-related shocks have in the past damaged homes, infrastructure and caused disruption to businesses and livelihood,” it added.

As it is, the Marcos administration already adjusted its macroeconomic view to account for the disruptions caused by the adverse weather conditions.

Earlier this month, economic managers narrowed their 2024 GDP growth target range to the current level of 6 to 6.5 percent, as they also cited the weak performance in the third quarter.

But the WB said the short-term effects of the recent typhoons and prolonged droughts were unlikely to dampen the country’s medium-term prospects “due to improving conditions that will support domestic demand and improve the country’s resilience.”

The bank penciled in a 6.1-percent GDP growth for 2025, and a 6-percent expansion for 2026. If realized, economic performance would settle within the government’s revised growth target of 6 to 8 percent for next year until the end of President Marcos’ term in 2028.

“Growth is projected to improve over the forecast period, buoyed by improving conditions for private domestic demand due to lower inflation, easing financial conditions, and recent reforms that will liberalize investment activity,” the WB said.

Source: Inquirer

Unemployment rate down in Oct but job quality worsened

Unemployment rate in the country rose to 3.9 percent in October, a slight increase from 3.7 percent in September but lower than the 4.2 percent that was recorded in the same month in 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Friday.

This translates to 1.97 million unemployed Filipinos, 80,000 more than September's 1.89 million but lower than October 2023's 2.09 million, reflecting a year-on-year decrease of 120,000 unemployed individuals.

Meanwhile, underemployment — which counts those looking for more work or an extra job — rose to 12.6 percent, up from 11.9 percent in September and 11.7 percent a year earlier.

This is equivalent to 6.08 million people "who have expressed the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have additional jobs, or to have a new job with long hours of work."

Employment rate, meanwhile, decreased to 96.1 percent in October from 96.3 percent in September but higher than last year's 95.8 percent.

The number of individuals with jobs reached 48.16 million, lower than September's 49.87 million but higher than October 2023's 47.79 million.

The services sector continued to dominate the labor market in October in terms of the number of employed persons with a share of 61.0 percent

The country's Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in October was registered at 63.3 percent, lower than the 65.7 percent recorded a month earlier and October 2023's 63.9 percent.

Source: Manila Times