GDP growth is projected at 6 to 6.5 percent in 2019 and 6.5 to 7.5 percent in 2020 to 2022.

Although the country’s local output growth measured as the gross domestic product (GDP) accelerated in the third quarter 2019, the top economic officials casted a tighter outlook this year.

Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado said the country’s economic growth could range within a tight 6 to 6.5 percent band, significantly narrower than the 6 to 7 percent band bared earlier. The growth rate in the succeeding years were kept unchanged.

“GDP growth is projected at 6 to 6.5 percent in 2019 and 6.5 to 7.5 percent in 2020 to 2022,” Avisado said at the Development Budget Coordination Committee’s (DBCC) press briefing on Wednesday.

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said the tighter growth range was traced to the lower-than-expected outcome in the first half this year.

“For the year, we’re actually proposing a tighter band because we already have the first to third quarter numbers. If we say it’s 6 to 7 percent, then it’s no longer credible,” Edillon said.

“Moving forward, we want to stick (to) prudent fiscal management and looking also at the different tax reform programs that are there, the revenue projections. Then we want to maintain a fiscal deficit-to-GDP ratio of 3.2 percent. We want to make sure that this growth is consistent with fiscal prudence,” she added.

Regardless, the DBCC held firm the view that the economy will hit the low end of the growth target at 6 percent.

Likewise, multilateral lender Asian Development Bank kept its GDP forecast of 6 percent for 2019. Earlier, various private sector economists held the same optimism.

The Cabinet-level DBCC also kept unchanged their view on inflation, projected to settle within the 2 to 4 percent range this year and for 2020 to 2022.

“The average inflation rate for 2019 is projected to settle at 2.4 percent, indicating relatively stable prices for Filipino consumers, while the assumed average rate for 2020 to 2022 will remain between 2 to 4 percent throughout,” the committee said.

“In addition, the assumption for the US dollar price of Dubai crude oil per barrel has been adjusted downwards in the medium-term. For 2019, the projected range has been narrowed to the range of $63 to $64. From 2020 to 2022, the price range is now projected to average between $55 to $70 per barrel,” it added.