Manila sees high oil price hitting GDP growth

Record-high oil prices have forced the Philippine government to scale down its economic growth expectations for 2005 to about 5 per cent compared to its official target of 5.3 per cent, Budget Secretary Romulo Neri said today.

Neri, who was the economic planning chief before his appointment to the budget department last month, said the economy is expected to rebound next year with 6.3 per cent growth fuelled by higher spending on infrastructure and more stable oil prices. Philippine gross domestic product grew 6.1 per cent last year

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