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Philippines: Virus’ damage to economy less severe than initially estimated in Q1
MANILA, Philippines — The lingering pandemic was less damaging to the economy in the first quarter than originally reported, state statisticians said Monday.
Gross domestic product shrank at an annualized rate of 3.9% in the first three months, softer than preliminary 4.2% on-year collapse reported last May.
The latest figure takes into account a larger set of data that include those belatedly reported by agencies and therefore were not considered in computing initial GDP numbers. Revisions are typically made by the Philippine Statistics Authority to better reflect the state of the economy
Data showed the upward revision was due to milder contractions posted by some sectors, namely professional and business services, construction, and real estate and ownership of dwellings.
The PSA will report the second quarter GDP figures on Tuesday. Analysts say the Philippines likely exited recession last quarter, with some even penciling in a double-digit growth due to so-called “base effects”. This means that while there might be some gains, the latest reading would be more of a painful reminder of last year’s pandemic-induced meltdown than a reflection of a convincing recovery.
For this year, the government is hoping for the economy to grow 6-7%, a watered-down target that is at risk of being downgraded again as Metro Manila and a few provinces go under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) — the strictest level of lockdown — this month amid a resurgence of cases said to be driven by the highly contagious Delta variant.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua recently said economic managers will revisit their goals once they see the Q2 GDP figures.
Source: https://www.philstar.com/business/2021/08/09/2118713/virus-damage-economy-less-severe-initially-estimated-q1