Factory output likely rose 3% in April, says Moody’s

MANILA, Philippines - Growth in the country’s manufacturing output is forecast to have accelerated to three percent in April from the previous month, research firm Moody’s Analytics said.

The projection is a turnaround from a contraction of 0.8 percent in March, although it remains slower than the 6.1 percent expansion in February.

“Industrial production slowed sharply in the opening months of 2014 and contracted in March. This is partly because of the typhoon, which hit small parts of the Philippines’ industrial sector,” Moody’s Analytics said.

“But the fundamentals still look good for manufacturing, at least in the near term. Foreign investment grew strongly across 2013,” it added.

The government will release the April manufacturing output data on Tuesday.

The country’s manufacturing sector had recorded double-digit growth through the second half of last year before slowing down in January.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed the value of production index with a 0.8 percent contraction in March due to a slowdown in the production of petroleum products amid a shutdown in an oil refinery.

The data also showed decreases in the production output of wood and wood products, chemical products, basic metals, furniture and fixtures, non-metallic mineral products, and footwear and wearing apparel during the month.