Philippine GDP grows 6% Q1, inflation at 1.8%

The University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) projects that the Philippine economy grew by six percent in the first quarter, slightly below its earlier forecast due to concerns over US President Donald J. Trump's aggressive tariff policy.

However, ANZ Research has revised its GDP projection for the Philippines down to 5% for this year from an initial estimate of 5.7%, citing direct and indirect impacts of tariffs and potential damage to global trade.

Economic growth is supported by strong infrastructure spending and easing inflation, although election-related restrictions are expected to slow down infrastructure spending in the second quarter.

Inflation eased to 1.8 percent in March, with UA&P expecting it to average 2.2 percent for both Q2 and Q3 due to lower crude oil and rice prices.

ANZ also lowered its inflation forecasts for the Philippines, now expecting inflation to settle at 2.9% this year, reflecting intertwined developments including slower growth and negative output gaps.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is scheduled to release official first quarter economic performance data on May 8 and has signaled there is room for further rate cuts this year.