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The
annual growth in Philippine exports was probably weaker
in December than in November due to slower shipments of
electronics products.
Exports
in December likely grew 6 percent from the same month a
year earlier, according to the median estimate in an
ABS-CBN poll of four economists.
The
National Statistics Office will release today (Feb 9)
the December exports data at 9:00 am.
Merchandise exports in November rose 10.8 percent
year-on-year to $4.022 billion, slower than the previous
month’s 15.5 percent rise, as growth in electronics
shipments decreased.
Overall
exports for the first 11 months of 2006 grew 15.8
percent year-on-year to $43.348 billion.
Singapore-based DBS said it expects exports to rise 6.8
percent year-on-year in December.
“This
will mark the first single-digit reading since January
2006, and will reflect the cyclical downturn in
electronics demand globally,” DBS said.
“To be
sure, an unexpected pick-up in the US Semiconductor
book-to-bill ratio to 1.05 in December—the first
above-1.0 reading since July—gives a glimmer of hope
that the electronics downturn may start to bottom out in
the next three or so months.”
“However, a firm conclusion can only be drawn if gains
in the book-to-bill ratio are sustained,” DBS said.
Among
the research groups polled, ING was the least optimistic
as it expects shipments in December to grow 3.5 percent. |
