Private Consumption in Philippines
The Philippines recorded average private consumption growth of 4.7% in the decade to 2022. In 2022, private consumption growth was 8.3%. For more private consumption information, visit our dedicated page.
Philippines Private consumption Chart
Note: This chart displays Private Consumption (annual variation in %) for Philippines from 2013 to 2022.
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority.
Philippines Private consumption Data
2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Private Consumption (ann. var. %) | 5.8 | 5.9 | -8.0 | 4.2 | 8.3 |
GDP growth accelerates sharply in Q3
According to a preliminary estimate, GDP growth sped up markedly to 5.9% year on year in the third quarter, from 4.3% in Q2. Q3's reading marked the strongest increase since Q4 2021 and beat market expectations by a significant margin. On a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, economic growth rebounded, expanding 3.3% in Q3, following the previous quarter's 0.7% drop.
Recovering public spending and stronger investment growth drove the acceleration. Government consumption bounced back, growing 6.7% in Q3, as the authorities compensated for underspending in the first half of the year (Q2: -7.1% yoy). Moreover, fixed investment growth improved to 7.9% in Q3 from 4.0% in the prior quarter, supported by public infrastructure projects. Less positively, household spending growth fell to 5.0% in Q3, marking the weakest expansion since Q1 2021 (Q2: +5.5% yoy). On the external front, exports of goods and services increased 2.6% on an annual basis in the third quarter, which was below the second quarter's 4.4% expansion. In addition, imports of goods and services deteriorated in line with moderating private spending, contracting 1.3% in Q3 (Q2: +0.2% yoy).
The economy is set to slow from Q3’s acceleration in Q4 before picking up speed again in 2024. Lackluster household spending will cap the expansion in Q4 2023, but robust public expenditure should limit the slowdown. Our panel sees domestic demand picking up next year, with government spending growth in particular set to accelerate nearly fivefold from this year’s forecast. Moreover, the external sector should regain speed in 2024, as foreign demand strengthens and the downturn in the global electronics sector eases. Tighter-for-longer global monetary conditions, a stronger-than-expected El Niño weather event and unexpectedly sluggish growth in China pose downside risks.
Euben Paracuelles, analyst at Nomura, commented on the outlook for the current quarter and next year: “We maintain our GDP growth forecasts of 5.2% in 2023 and 5.8% in 2024, below the government’s range of 6-7%. Our forecast pencils in slower momentum to return in Q4 2023, as we think private consumption growth will continue to soften due to weakening household sentiment, as was evident in today’s data […]. The modest improvement we expect next year reflects our views that the government’s implementation of infrastructure projects will gain momentum and that external demand, including for electronics exports, will improve somewhat.” ANZ economists Debalika Sakrar and Sanjay Mathur commented on the potential impact of Q3’s growth figure on monetary policy: “Irrespective of the drivers, [Q3’s] GDP headline print could be partly reassuring for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, as it is keeping its door open to policy rate hikes if inflationary concerns re-emerge in coming months. We, however, do not expect any change in the policy rate in the 16 November meeting.”
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects Philippine private consumption projections for the next ten years from a panel of 17 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable private consumption forecast available for Philippine private consumption.
Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our Philippine private consumption projections.
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