The Philippine economy expanded 5.4 percent in 2006, in line with the government’s estimates but at the lower end of the range, as weaker farm output due to typhoons dragged down overall growth, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) said.
Gross domestic product in the fourth quarter grew 4.8 percent from a year earlier and was flat from the previous quarter.
The services sector led last year’s expansion, delivering growth of 6.3 percent, the NCSB said.
Agricultural output, which makes up a fifth of the economy, grew 4.1 percent.
Industrial production rose 4.8 percent, with the manufacturing sector posting 5.4-percent growth.
“The fourth quarter numbers are lower than market consensus, but better than our own projection. I was looking at 4.1 percent GDP growth in the fourth quarter year-on-year because of the lower contribution from the agriculture sector,” said Song Seng Wun, regional economist of CIMB-GK Research in Singapore.
Frederic Neumann, an economist at HSBC, said: “In terms of annual GDP, the figure is in line with expectations. We would expect growth to be at the same range in 2007 given strong remittance growth and a rebound in fiscal expenditure.”