Economist are at odds over the inflation print in January, with some expecting a pickup due to the damage caused by Super Typhoon Odette, while others see a further slowdown in the rise in consumer prices.
A CNN Philippines poll among 15 economists yielded an average growth forecast of 6.25% for the quarter easing from the surprise 7.1% expansion three months prior. While analysts cite more relaxed restrictions during the period, they say some setbacks dampened prospects.
Philippines economic growth likely slowed in the fourth quarter of last year as the damage caused by Typhoon Odette sapped the gains from relaxed COVID restrictions, according to Dutch financial giant ING Bank.
Dollar inflows from overseas Filipino workers climbed for the 10th straight month in November last year, driving total remittances in 11 months 5.3 percent higher from a year earlier.
MANILA - An analyst has forecast the Philippine peso's 2022 performance to be driven by changes in the Federal Reserve's policy rates instead of trade developments, just like what happened last year. In a report released on Thursday, ING Bank Manila senior economist Nicholas Antonio Mapa said the local currency, which was able to touch the 50-level to the dollar mid-trade this week, and the country's gross international reserves (GIR) would likely be affected more this year by monetary policy normalization in the US. He said another surge in the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infections, which during the day logged a record-high 34,021 new cases, contributes to the delay in the domestic economy's recovery. Citing Philippine Statistics Authority data, Mapa said the balance of trade in goods, which is the difference between the value of exports and imports over a certain period, in November 2021 showed a record -USD4.706 billion. Despite this, he said, the peso "