Manila: The Philippine government cut its economic growth outlook for this year as high daily numbers of coronavirus infections weighs on the recovery.
GDP is now tipped to grow 4-5 per cent this year, compared with a previous estimate of 6-7 per cent, according to the Development Budget Coordination Committee, which sets the government's economic assumptions for budget purposes. The outlook for 2022 was kept at 7-9 per cent, the committee said Wednesday.
Lingering lockdowns and high infections pushed the economy back into contraction in the second quarter from the previous three months. With the delta variant spreading across Southeast Asia, governments from Malaysia to Thailand are slashing their economic growth estimates.
"Our strategy is to continue managing the risks carefully by imposing granular quarantines, while allowing a vast number of people to earn a living," it said in a statement.
Analysts predict the Philippine economy will grow 4.9 per cent this year, and 6.5 per cent in both 2022 and 2023, according to a Bloomberg survey released Tuesday. That places the nation among the region's laggards.
