Philippines Q2 GDP grows 2.3% yr/yr, slower than expected

MANILA, Aug 7 : The Philippine economy grew 2.3 per cent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the statistics agency said on Friday, slower than expected.• Economists in a Reuters poll had expected the economy to grow 2.8 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter, which would have matched the first-quarter growth rate.• On a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy grew 0.6 per cent in the April-June period, down from 0.9 per cent in the previous quarter.• Annual inflation slowed for a third straight month in July to 6.2 per cent from 6.4 per cent in June, due to a slower increase in transport costs. • In June, the government cut this year's growth forecast to 3.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent due to the Middle East crisis and an infrastructure-related corruption scandal