Philippines Q2 GDP +4.6 on Year

The economy of the Philippines increased by 4.6 percent in the second quarter compared to the previous quarter, the National Statistics Office said on Thursday. That's down sharply from the 5.2 percent annual expansion in the previous quarter, and it also came in below the wide range or forecasts that predicted an increase of between 5 and 5.9 percent on year.

Agricultural output in the Philippines, which makes up about 40 percent of total GDP, climbed 5.4 percent on year in the second quarter as production of the country's main rice crop was boosted by early rains. Overseas remittances were up 17 percent on year in the first half, with annual remittances in June alone climbing a record 30 percent. Copyright(c) 2008 RealTimeTraders.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.