MANILA : The Philippine economy expanded an annual 5.2 per cent in fourth quarter from a year earlier, official data showed on Thursday, missing the median forecast of 5.4 per cent growth in a Reuters poll of economists.
On a quarterly basis, the Philippines grew a seasonally adjusted 1.8 per cent in the October-December quarter, data from Philippines Statistics Authority showed, below the 1.9 per cent forecast in the poll.
Fourth quarter growth, which matched the previous quarter’s 5.2 per cent expansion, brought full-year growth in 2024 to 5.6 per cent, below the government’s 6.0 per cent to 6.5 per cent growth target.
The weaker than expected expansion in the last three months of 2024 came as a result of typhoons, droughts and other climate-related disruptions, with farm output contracting domestic demand weaker.
“We faced numerous setbacks,” Economic Planning Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon told a media briefing.
Last month, the government widened its growth target for 2025-2028 to a range of 6.0 per cent to 8.0 per cent, from 6.5 per cent to 7.5 per cent for 2025 and 6.5 per cent to 8.0 per cent in 2026-2028 to account for what it said were evolving global uncertainties.
