THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the 6.5 percent Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the second quarter of the year was proof that the economy was far from overheating. Last week, the government reported that Philippine economy grew 6.5 percent in the second quarter of 2017, accelerating from 6.4 percent in the first quarter due largely to bigger government spending amid a slack in private investment. However, it was slower than the 7.1 percent growth registered in 2016. The second-quarter pace brought the first-half rate of growth to 6.4 percent, losing steam from 7 percent in the first half of 2016, and falling short of the full-year target set by the government between 6.5 percent and 7.5 percent. “Such growth of 6.5 percent in the context of price stability is very much consistent with our potential output and that should convince us that overheating is quite distant at this point,” Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said.

Source: Manila Times August 20, 2017 06:11 UTC