THE manufacturing sector likely posted sluggish numbers in August due to base effects, Moody’s Analytics, a division of Moody’s Corp., said in a report over the weekend.
Moody’s Analytics, which operates independently of the global credit rating watchdog Moody’s Investors Service, said the Philippines’ manufacturing output in August fell 2 percent year-on-year following a 1.1-percent decline in July.
“High base effects are at play, as domestic demand is doing well and global manufacturing demand is upbeat. In August 2016, manufacturing production volumes rose by 13.4 percent, from an 11.4-percent gain in July. From June 2017 to May 2017 production averaged 9 percent year-on-year,” Moody’s said.
“The peso has not provided the expected lift to exports and manufacturing yet, but rather has undesirably raised the import bill,” it said.