BPI sees less than 6% GDP growth in 2015

MANILA, Philippines - The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) expects the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growing less than six percent last year due to the weakness of the export sector and low public spending in the first semester of the year.

“Government spending improved last year as compared to 2014 but the export numbers diluted whatever gains earned in 2015,” BPI chief economist Emilio Neri Jr. said.

From January to November 2015, total exports value fell 5.8 percent to $54 billion. Moreover, merchandise exports account for only 83.1 percent of the merchandise export target of $65 billion for 2015.

All key commodities registered double-digit declines except for manufactured goods, which posted a 3.6-percent year-on-year increase as shipments of electronic products continued to recover.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said risks are skewed towards the downside of the export sector this year as a more protracted slowdown across emerging economies could have substantial spillovers to other developing economies and eventually hold back recovery in advanced economies.