Philippines cuts 2025 GDP growth goal, trims inflation view
[MANILA] The Philippine government has cut its economic growth target for this year as the conflict in the Middle East added to risks from the impact of the Trump administration's trade war.
The economy is now targeted to expand 5.5 per cent-6.5 per cent this year from a previous goal of 6 per cent-8 per cent, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said in a mobile-phone message on Thursday (Jun 26).
The downward revision underscores the mounting challenges to the Philippine economy, which expanded slower than expected last quarter, partly as the Trump administration's tariff threats hurt global sentiment. The South-east Asian nation that's reliant on fuel imports is also vulnerable to oil price shocks due to Israel-Iran tensions.
Recto said the government's inflation assumption for 2025 has also been narrowed to 2 per cent-3 per cent from a previous outlook of 2 per cent-4 per cent.
The revised outlook supports the case for further monetary policy easing from the central bank, especially as traders and governments worldwide remain on edge due to the Middle East conflict, and as Trump continues to wage a trade war.
Although the Philippines is less trade-dependent than neighbouring countries, its exports to the US are now subject to a 10 per cent tariff, which could rise to 17 per cent if the country fails to get Washington to agree to a reduction. BLOOMBERG
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
40 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Poland says arms race could lead to Putin's fall
Russian President Vladimir Putin is "waging a very expensive war" in Ukraine, said Poland's foreign minister. PHOTO: AFP WARSAW - Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said June 26 that a new arms race could lead to the fall of Russian President Vladimir Putin's 'regime', just like it toppled the Soviet Union. The Nato member's top diplomat spoke after the Western defence alliance agreed to massively ramp up defence spending, seen as vital to counter the threat from Russia. 'Putin should understand that he is on the path of (Soviet leader Leonid) Brezhnev. He himself once said that the Soviet Union collapsed because it spent too much on armament, and now he is doing exactly the same thing,' Mr Sikorski said, in an interview with AFP, the Polish news agency PAP and German agency DPA. 'He is waging a very expensive war... scared the whole West into reinforcing its defence spending,' Mr Sikorski said, adding: 'We are doing it because Putin is threatening us'. 'This means that from an economy the size of Texas, Putin will have to squeeze out even more defence funds. Hopefully with a similar result for the regime (to that of the Soviet Union), but faster.' Nato's 32 countries agreed to US President Donald Trump's headline target of 5 per cent of GDP on defence spending following two days of talks in The Hague. The compromise hatched by Nato sees countries promise to dedicate 3.5 per cent of GDP to core military spending by 2035, and a further 1.5 per cent to broader security-related areas such as infrastructure. Underpinning the leaders' discussions on defence was Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, with the summit's final statement referring to the 'long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security'. Mr Trump also signed off on a final declaration confirming an 'ironclad commitment' to Nato's collective defence pledge that an attack on one is an attack on all – a reassuring move for European countries worried about Russia. 'Trump understands' Fearing threats from neighbouring Russia, Poland has for several years rapidly modernised its military, with a string of arms contracts, mainly with the United States and South Korea. It has already earmarked 4.7 per cent of its GDP for military expenditure this year, and in 2026 it aims to raise it further. Mr Sikorski said 'Trump understands now that it is Russia that does not want an end to the war' in Ukraine, which began with Russia's invasion in February 2022. He said that at the Nato summit, 'I drew attention to the fact that this shows a lack of respect on the part of Vladimir Putin towards the peace initiatives of President Trump'. Poland's foreign affairs minister, Mr Radoslaw Sikorski, said US President Donald Trump understands that Russia does not want an end to its war in Ukraine. PHOTO: AFP Mr Sikorski also hailed Germany – Europe's biggest economy – for its efforts to boost its military. This week Germany revealed plans to reach the 3.5 per cent level for core spending six years early, in 2029, with the vast extra outlays necessary made possible after the country eased its rules on taking on debt. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has vowed to build Europe's 'strongest conventional army' to counter the growing threat from Moscow. Mr Sikorski said 'we are good allies and we need to build a kind of force that will not scare anybody but that will deter Putin'. 'And I would see the need to counter the Russian missile threat from the Kaliningrad exclave as an urgent Polish-German challenge,' he added. Poland shares a border with Russia's heavily militarised Kaliningrad exclave. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
41 minutes ago
- Straits Times
US Supreme Court to issue term's final rulings on Friday
FILE PHOTO: A general view of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, U.S., June 1, 2024. REUTERS/Will Dunham/File Photo WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court will issue its final rulings of its current term on Friday, Chief Justice John Roberts said. It has yet to resolve several important cases, including one involving President Donald Trump's bid to limit birthright citizenship as well as others involving Obamacare, age verification for online pornography and LGBT story books in elementary schools. Due to the unusual procedural nature of the birthright citizenship case, which was brought to the court on an emergency basis but was argued before the justices, a decision in that case could be among the court rulings issued on Friday. Trump signed an executive order to restrict birthright citizenship, a move that would affect thousands of babies born each year in the United States. Federal judges in Maryland, Washington and Massachusetts blocked Trump's order, finding it likely violates the Constitution's 14th Amendment citizenship language. The administration is seeking to broadly enforce the directive. The court also could act at any time in other pending disputes on its emergency docket including Trump's bids to carry out mass job cuts at federal agencies and gut the Department of Education. Other cases awaiting rulings include ones involving preventive care under the Obamacare law, opting children out of certain classes in a Maryland school district when storybooks with LGBT characters are read, Louisiana electoral districts and the Federal Communications Commission's mechanism to fund a multi-billion dollar effort to expand phone and broadband internet access. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
No known intelligence that Iran moved uranium, US defence chief says
No known intelligence that Iran moved uranium, US defence chief says WASHINGTON - US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on June 26 said he was unaware of any intelligence suggesting Iran had moved any of its highly enriched uranium to shield it from US strikes on Iran's nuclear programme over the weekend. US military bombers carried out strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities with more than a dozen 13,607kg bunker buster bombs. The results of the strikes are being closely watched to see how far the strikes may have set back Iran's nuclear programme. "I'm not aware of any intelligence that I've reviewed that says things were not where they were supposed to be, moved or otherwise," Mr Hegseth said in an often fiery news conference. US President Donald Trump, who watched the news conference, echoed his defence secretary, saying it would have taken too long to remove anything. 'The cars and small trucks at the site were those of concrete workers trying to cover up the top of the shafts. Nothing was taken out of facility,' Mr Trump, without providing evidence, wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. Several experts cautioned this week that Iran likely moved a stockpile of near weapons-grade highly enriched uranium out of Fordow before the strike early on the morning of June 21, and could be hiding it and other nuclear components in locations unknown to Israel, the US and United Nations nuclear inspectors. They noted satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showing 'unusual activity' at Fordow on June 19 and 20, with a long line of vehicles waiting outside an entrance to the facility. A senior Iranian source told Reuters on June 22 that most of the near weapons-grade 60 per cent highly enriched uranium had been moved to an undisclosed location before the US attack. The Financial Times, citing European capitals, reported that Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpile remains largely intact since its stockpile was not concentrated in Fordow. Mr Hegseth's comments denying those claims came at a news briefing where he accused the media of downplaying the success of US strikes on Iran's nuclear programme following a leaked, preliminary assessment from the Defence Intelligence Agency suggesting they may have only set back Iran by months. Mr Hegseth said the assessment was low confidence, and, citing comments from Central Intelligence Agency director John Ratcliffe, said it had been overtaken by intelligence showing Iran's nuclear programme was severely damaged by recent US strikes, and that it would take years to rebuild. Media hatred In the news conference, Mr Hegseth spent large portions of the time criticising the media, without evidence, for having an anti-Trump bias. 'It's in your DNA and in your blood to cheer against Trump because you want him not to be successful so bad,' Mr Hegseth said. 'There are so many aspects of what our brave men and women did that... because of the hatred of this press corps, are undermined,' he said. Mr Trump, who announced the press conference on Truth Social early on June 26 , praised it as: 'One of the greatest, most professional, and most 'confirming' News Conferences I have ever seen!' On X, Mr Hegseth thanked Mr Trump for his praise. During the press conference, the top US general largely stuck to technical details, going into the history of the bunker busting bombs used. General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, showed a video testing the bombs on a bunker like the ones struck on June 21. Gen Caine declined to provide his own assessment of the strike and deferred to the intelligence community. He denied being under any pressure to change his assessment to present a more optimistic view of the US strikes. He also said he would not change his assessment due to politics. Uniformed military officials are supposed to remain apolitical and provide their best military advice. 'I've never been pressured by the president or the secretary to do anything other than tell them exactly what I'm thinking, and that's exactly what I've done,' he said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
