Philippines Q3 GDP grows 6.9% y-o, above forecast

[MANILA] The Philippine economy grew by a faster-than-expected 6.9 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier, supported by strong industrial output and services, the statistics agency said on Thursday.

Economists in a Reuters poll had forecast annual growth of 6.5 per cent in the July-September period, compared with the second quarter's upwardly revised 6.7 per cent pace.

Growth for the September quarter on a quarterly basis will be released later. Economists had predicted growth would cool slightly to 1.6 per cent from the April-June period, after the second quarter's 1.7 per cent growth.

REUTERS