In a report on Thursday, Security Bank Corp. chief economist Robert Dan Roces said the 2020 forecast was worse than the government’s 2.0- to 3.4-percent estimate. The “[g]rowth data is widely expected to have contracted sharply in the second quarter as a consequence of the stringent lockdowns amid enhanced community quarantine measures that took place for the most part of that quarter,” Roces explained. “Confidence levels remain low, however, with uncertainties on fiscal stimulus measures and vaccine developments, plus a difficult external environment. On consumer prices, Roces noted that limited demand was keeping inflation in check and said consumer price growth was likely to settle between 2.2 and 2.6 percent, with a 2.5 percent average. “The main drivers for July are gains in food prices and net higher pump prices from last month, adding pressure on transport costs as global crude oil prices recover,” he added.

Source: Manila Times July 30, 2020 18:33 UTC