Economists expect lackluster economic performance this year
Philippine economists are expecting a bearish economic performance this years amid the local currency’s depreciating value, and hiked interest and inflation rates.
“I don’t think that the targets will be as upbeat as before,” Leonardo A. Lanzona, Director of the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development said.
Lanzona explained that the continuosly weakening Philippine Peso and the increased interest rate could potentially discourage investors from coming into the country.
In an effort to curb the increasing inflation rate, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) Monetary Board decided to raise the interest on the BSP’s overnight reverse repurchase facility by 50 basis points to 4.25 per cent.
The interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities were raised to 3.75 percent and 4.75 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) and University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) economists anticipates that the Philippine economy will only grow by 6.5% this year, a few notched lower compared to the government’s set target of 7.5 per cent.
With a little optimism Lanzona said that dollar remittances from Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) by Christmas season might still shed some positive effect on this glum forecasts.
