Economy grows 7.5 pct in Q2

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The economic growth of the Philippines rose to 7.5 percent in the second quarter of this year, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) announced Thursday.

"The gross domestic product of the Philippines accelerated in the second quarter of this year to 7.5 percent from 6.3 percent recorded the previous year," the NSCB said in a report released Thursday.

It boosted the first semester growth of this year to 7.6 percent from 6.4 percent in the first half of last year, it said.

Service sector, which grew by 7.4 percent, remained the main driver of the country's growth supported by the 10.3 percent and 17.4 percent growth of manufacturing and construction, respectively, boosting the Industry sector to grow by 10.3 percent.

On the demand side, the growth came mainly from consumer and public spending buttressed by increased investments in Fixed Capital. External trade has been lackluster, it said.  

On a seasonally adjusted basis, GDP grew at 1.4 percent but this was slower than the previous quarter's growth of 2.3 percent.