Local output expansion that underwhelmed the economic managers last year at only 5.6 percent in terms of the gross domestic product (GDP) is seen reaccelerated to 6 percent this year, the International Monetary Fund said.
In discussing updates to the World Economic Outlook where global growth was seen stabilizing this year at 3.1 percent, the IMF said the Philippines is seen bouncing back from last year’s underwhelming performance.
According to the IMF, the Philippines were to persist along continued growth this year although the outlook leans on the downside as inflation remains “persistently high.”
Such is validated by headline numbers under which the rate at which prices change across the Philippines averaged well above target just last year to 6 percent instead of up to only 4 percent at most as targeted.
In latest forecasts, various analysts project inflation due this Tuesday, 6 February, averaging 3.3 percent, saying the risk for price pressures persisting near term remains elevated. Even the IMF, including Akiniko Yoshida, director at IMF’s Regional Office for Asia-Pacific, noted persistently high inflation in the Philippines although headline and core inflation both posted slower rates of expansion in recent months.
Against this background, the consensus across various economists and market analysts is for inflation in January averaging lower to only 3.1 percent versus the last reported headline rate of 3.9 percent in December.
According to analysts, month-on-month inflation were to expand no more than 0.2 percent in January or the same rate it was forecast in December.
Core inflation expanding 4.4 percent in December is seen to tick lower to only 4 percent in January. Among the various market analysts, however, consensus core inflation will likely average even lower to 3.8 percent in January.
