Philippine GDP grows 2.1 percent in third quarter, missing forecasts

Philippine gross domestic product grew 2.1 percent from a year earlier in the third quarter of 2026, the Philippine Statistics Authority said, slowing from a revised 2.4 percent in the second quarter and 4.0 percent a year earlier as farm output contracted 4.8 percent.

Why it matters: The print missed the 2.7 percent median forecast in a BusinessWorld poll and leaves growth in the first nine months averaging about 2.6 percent, well short of the government's 3.5 to 4.5 percent target for 2026, with inflation at 7.8 percent limiting the central bank's room to respond.

Data as of Philippine Statistics Authority national accounts release dated November 9, 2026 (reference 2026-362), read in full in this run; every figure is the authority's own. The forecast comparison is the BusinessWorld poll reported by BusinessWorld. Developing item.

The Philippine economy grew 2.1 percent from a year earlier in the third quarter of 2026, the Philippine Statistics Authority said on Monday, a fifth consecutive quarterly slowing that came in below the 2.7 percent median forecast in a BusinessWorld poll of economists. BusinessWorld reported the print was the weakest since the 3.8 percent contraction in the first quarter of 2021, during the pandemic.

Services grew 3.7 percent from a year earlier and carried the expansion, led by wholesale and retail trade, public administration and financial and insurance activities, while agriculture, forestry and fishing contracted 4.8 percent amid El Niño weather and industry was flat, down 0.003 percent. Household consumption grew 2.4 percent, government consumption 6.8 percent and exports 8.6 percent, while gross capital formation fell 0.2 percent and gross national income rose 2.7 percent.

Philippine GDP grows 2.1 percent in third quarter, missing forecasts

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