Philippine GDP grows faster by 6.5% in Q2 2017

MANILA, Philippines (3rd UPDATE) – As agriculture recovers and government spending picks up, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 6.5% in the 2nd quarter of 2017, recovering from a slowdown for the past 3 quarters.

The Philippine economy grew faster to 6.5% in the 2nd quarter of 2017, an increase from the 6.4% growth during the 1st quarter of 2017, but still a decline from the 7% in the 2nd quarter of 2016, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Thursday, August 17.

The country's agriculture sector grew 6.18% in the 2nd quarter of 2017, breaching the Department of Agriculture's forecast of 5%.

Meanwhile, government spending went up to 5.6% in the 2nd quarter of the year, from 4% in the 1st quarter. (READ: Under Duterte, is PH economy in good hands?)

PH ahead of ASEAN so far, behind China

Should economists' targets be realized, the Philippines' 2nd quarter economic growth would slip further behind India as well as China.

As of now, the 6.5% growth in GDP places the Philippines ahead of other Southeast Asian nations that have released their GDP figures for the 2nd quarter.

However, the "Philippine GDP growth rate is second only to China so far among major Asian economies," Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said.