PH to revisit macro view on Trump 2.0, weak peso
The Marcos administration might revise some of its macroeconomic assumptions to account for the impact of a second Trump administration on the economy and the current weakness of the peso, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Pangandaman said the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) would revisit the macroeconomic targets and assumptions that policymakers use as a guide to fiscal planning. The review will happen once the inter-agency body convenes again in the first week of December.
Specifically, the budget chief, who is also the chair of the DBCC, said the committee might have to revise its current peso-dollar assumption of 56 to 58.
This, as a volatile peso threatens to pierce through the record-low 59:$1 level that had been revisited last week amid a rallying dollar that draws its strength from investor unease following Donald Trump’s election victory in the United States.
But overall, Pangandaman said any possible tweaks to the DBCC’s targets and predictions would be “minimal.”
“I’m not sure if they can already take into consideration the new administration of President Trump. I think it’s also nice to look at it,” she said. “The technical working group is looking into it.”
The Philippine economy grew at an annualized 5.2 percent in the three months through September, the weakest growth in five quarters. That clip was slower than the 6.4-percent expansion in the second quarter, and was also below market expectations.
