The Philippines’s economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter, boosting expectations of interest rate hikes to curb rising inflation, a key challenge facing the country’s newly-elected president.
The Southeast Asian country’s gross domestic product grew 8.3 per cent during the January-March period compared with a year earlier, well ahead of forecasts and faster than the 7.7 per cent expansion in the previous quarter.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the country’s central bank, holds its next policy meeting on May 19 amid growing expectations of an interest rate hike to tame rising prices that could threaten the economic recovery if left unchecked.