By Justine Irish DP. Tabile, Senior Reporter
THE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Thursday said it kept the country’s first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate unchanged at 2.8%.
Meanwhile, gross national income growth — which measures GDP plus net primary income from the rest of the world — was revised downward to 2.9% from the 3% initially reported.
Growth in net primary income from the rest of the world was lowered to 3.5% from 4.5%.
The PSA also revised figures for several components of the national accounts, particularly on the supply side.
Downward revisions were recorded in other services, to 2.9% from 3.9%; electricity, steam, water and waste management, to 0.03% from 0.7%; and education, to 5.9% from 6.1%.
Meanwhile, manufacturing growth was revised upward to 0.7% from 0.5%; transportation and storage, to 5% from 4.4%; and wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, to 4.7% from 4.6%.
The PSA said it revises GDP estimates based on an approved policy aligned with international standard practices.
The revisions came ahead of the release of second-quarter GDP data on Friday (Aug. 7).
A BusinessWorld poll of 21 economists conducted last week yielded a median GDP growth estimate of 2.8% for the April-to-June period. This would match the first-quarter pace but be much slower than the 5.4% expansion in the same period last year.
This would bring the first-half average to 2.8%, below the government’s 3.5%-4.5% full-year target
