(Adds previous 2024 GDP growth forecast in paragraph 3, and
statement in paragraph 6)
MANILA, May 12 (Reuters) - The International Monetary
Fund (IMF) kept its economic growth forecast for the Philippines
this year at 6.0%, and projected next year's GDP expansion to
come in between 5.5% and 6.0%, a Fund official said on Friday.
IMF mission head Jay Peiris, in a press conference in Manila
following a staff visit, said fighting inflation was the "first
priority" for Philippine policymakers, and fiscal and monetary
measures will help bring that down.
The IMF's growth forecast for this year is at the low end of
the Philippine government's growth target of 6.0% to 7.0%. The
Fund previously projected next year's growth at 5.8%.
The Fund's latest outlook for the Philippines follows the
Southeast Asian country's stronger-than-expected economic
performance in the first quarter, which put the country on track
to meet its growth goals for this year and next.
Although growth in the first quarter was the Philippines'
slowest in two years at 6.4%, it was among the fastest in
Southeast Asia.
"The main downside risks to the outlook continue to be
persistently high core inflation, depreciation pressures amid
tighter global conditions, geoeconomic fragmentation, and
balance sheet impacts related to higher borrowing costs," the
IMF said in a statement.
(Reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz; Editing by Martin Petty,
William Maclean)
