Think tank slashes PH GDP projection
Barcelona-based think tank FocusEconomics lowered its 2021 projections on the Philippines’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – from 7.3% to 6.8%,
FocusEconomics is expecting a slower recovery for the country’s economy. Junior economist Alex Petropoulos said that GDP contraction in the first quarter was slower than the 8.3 percent recorded in the fourth quarter of 2020, but was worse than market expectations.
“GDP dropped at a more moderate, albeit still-pronounced, rate of 4.2 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, following the 8.3 percent decline logged in the fourth quarter of last year. However, the result undershot market analysts’ expectations of a three percent contraction,” Petropoulos said.
The country’s GDP is expected to stabilize at six to seven percent in 2023 and 2024.
