Q1 GDP grows 8.3 yy, up 1.9 qq
Growth fastest in three quarters
C.bank to hike rates at May 19 meeting ING

MANILA, May 12 Reuters Newlyelected Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will inherit an economy that has strongly bounced back from the COVID19 pandemic when he takes office in June, but soaring food and fuel costs will need to be addressed quickly.

The Southeast Asian nation39;s economy grew a betterthanexpected 8.3 in the first quarter , the government said on Thursday. It was the fastest annual growth since the June quarter of 2021 and exceeded a 6.6 forecast in a Reuters poll.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the economy grew 1.9 in JanuaryMarch from the previous quarter , with the easing of COVID19 curbs and electionrelated spending underpinning domestic demand.

The Philippines thus was the fastest growing economy in the East Asia Region for the period, officials said.

That gives the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas BSP scope to raise interest rates to tackle rising inflation, which threatens to dampen consumer sentiment and derail the economic recovery.

The BSP stands ready to adjust our monetary policy settings, should we see material risk of these supplyside pressures spilling over to the demand side, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said following the data release.

The BSP holds its next policy meeting on May 19, with some analysts seeing higher chances for an interest rate hike as early as its May 19 meeting.

With GDP now back to preCOVID levels…