MANILA (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN): The country’s total manufacturing output slid by 73.4 percent year-on-year in March, the fastest drop in seven months, mainly due to the temporary closure of the only remaining oil refinery in the Philippines.
The Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) monthly integrated survey of selected industries for March, which was released on Friday, showed the volume of production index (VoPI) proxy for factory output posted the steepest decline since the 82.2 per cent in August 2020.
National Statistician Dennis Mapa said the main contributor to March’s VoPI contraction was the 97.4-percent fall in the production of petroleum coke and refined oil products.
BusinessWorld
May 9, 2021 | 11:05 pm
SHARES are expected to correct this trading week as investors await the release of the first quarter (Q1) gross domestic product (GDP) report.
The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSEi) declined by 24.07 points or 0.38% to close at 6,258.71 on Friday, while the broader all shares index went down by 2.22 points or 0.05% to finish at 3,877.43.
Week on week, the benchmark index likewise shed 112.16 points from its 6,370.87 close on April 30.
Timson Securities, Inc. Trader Darren Blaine T. Pangan said inflation concerns here and abroad continued to cloud investor sentiment.
“Locally, trading volume remained thin, as investors digested the many economic reports released such as the April manufacturing activity, as well as April’s inflation rate,” Mr. Pangan said in a Viber message on Saturday.
BusinessWorld
May 10, 2021 | 12:34 am
Localized lockdowns have been implemented due to the rising number of coronavirus cases. â PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS
PHILIPPINE gross domestic product (GDP) likely declined at a slower pace in the first three months of 2021 compared with the previous quarters, a
BusinessWorld poll showed, as a renewed surge in coronavirus infections and a stricter lockdown imposed in Metro Manila and adjacent provinces dampened recovery.
A
BusinessWorld poll of 18 analysts yielded a median GDP decline of 2.6% for the first quarter, easing from the -8.3% in the fourth quarter of 2020, but still slower than the -0.7% in the first quarter of 2020.
BusinessWorld
May 10, 2021 | 12:06 am
BW FILE PHOTO
THE RATES of Treasury bills (T-bills) on offer on Monday could decline further as investors await the release of first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data.
The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) is looking to raise P25 billion via its offering of T-bills on Monday, broken down into P5 billion from 91-day debt, P8 billion via the 182-day papers and P12 billion from the 364-day securities.
T-bill yields could decline by 5 to 10 basis points (bps) from their week-ago levels, analysts said.
“Expect bond yields to drift lower as expectations for GDP growth and inflation become more subdued with the lockdown taking its toll on business recovery forecasts,” Noel S. Reyes, first vice-president and chief investment officer at Security Bank Corp., said via Viber on Friday.
BusinessWorld
May 10, 2021 | 12:33 am
Reporter
THE CENTRAL BANK is widely expected to keep policy unchanged when it announces its decision this week, amid uncertainty over the pandemic and its impact on economic recovery, a
BusinessWorld poll of analysts showed.
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BusinessWorld poll held last week showed 15 out of 17 analysts are of the view that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will maintain its overnight reverse repurchase rate or the key policy rate at a record low of 2%.
Analysts said the scope for interest rate adjustment is limited as inflation continued to exceed the annual target and supply issues persisted.
“The onus is then on fiscal policy to do most of the heavy lifting to support the economy. More fiscal stimulus is expected when the Bayanihan III bill is eventually passed by Congress,” Mitsubishi UFJ Group Global Research analyst Sophia Ng said.