The Philippine economy likely grew at a slower pace of 5.9 percent in the fourth quarter, from 6 percent a quarter ago, weighed down by weak exports due to sluggish demand overseas, Moody’s Analytics, a division of Moody’s Corp., said in a report Friday.
The figure would bring full-year gross domestic product growth to 5.7 percent, slower than the 6.1 percent a year ago, but enough to remain one of the fastest in the Asian region.
“Philippine GDP growth likely cooled to 5.9 percent year-on-year in the December quarter, after the September quarter’s 6 percent. This brings full-year GDP growth to 5.7 percent in 2015, making the Philippines one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies last year,” Moody’s said.
It said strong growth in services including business process outsourcing was helping offset weakness in exports from sluggish global demand and agriculture from drought in some parts.
Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that exports fell slightly to $5.1 billion in November from $5.2 billion a year ago due to weak demand overseas.