By Hayati Nupus
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AA) - The Philippines' economy contracted by 11.5% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2020.
The decline followed a 16.9% contraction in the second quarter and a 15.2% contraction in the first three months of the year.
The economy contracted by an average of 10% in the first three quarters, beyond the government's target of 4.5% to 6.6%.
However, acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua remained optimistic.
"It indicates that the economy is on the mend. The path is clearer to a strong bounce-back in 2021," said Karl during a press briefing.
Meanwhile, Kanika Batnagar, an economist at ANZ Bank, said: "While the Philippine GDP rebounded in Q3, the pace was slow, owing to weak private consumption."
ANZ had projected GDP would shrink 10.2% year-on-year last quarter.
*Writing by Maria Elisa Hospita from Anadolu Agency's Indonesian language services in Jakarta.