MANILA, Philippines—United Kingdom-based think tank Pantheon Macroeconomics expects the Philippines’ second-quarter output to shrink by a bigger 1.5 percent compared to first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP), no thanks to weaker private consumption due to prolonged and more stringent quarantine restrictions in areas accounting for half of the economy.
While the government was set to release official first quarter GDP figures on Tuesday (May 11), Pantheon Macroeconomics senior Asia economist Miguel Chanco on Monday (May 10) downgraded his quarter-on-quarter forecast for the second quarter of 2021 from his previous estimate of 1-percent contraction compared to end-March output.
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Keep on reading: Pandemic impact: UK think tank sees bigger decline in second quarter GDP