Despite challenges, the Philippines remains one of the strongest-performing economies in Asia. GDP growth rate stands at 6.1% quarter-on-quarter to Q3 2018—ranking third after Vietnam’s 6.9% and China’s 6.5% for the same period.

Inflation continues to be a challenge, which is currently pegged at 6.7% for October 2018, while the government’s inflation target of 2–4% for 2018 has been adjusted to 4.8–5.2% to account for rising global prices. Unemployment rate, at 5.4% as of July 2018, has marginally decreased in Q3 2018 compared to the same period in 2017, while August 2018 FDI inflows were 41% lower compared to the same period a year ago. Finally, after peaking at P54:$1 in October 2018, the peso is now slowly recovering. According to economists, one of the biggest external factors that pull down the Philippine peso—and other currencies for that matter—is the continued tightening of U.S. monetary policy.

Download Pinnacle’s Philippine Macroeconomic Updates for November 2018.