The Philippine economy grew 2.2 percent in the March quarter from the previous three months, beating market forecasts, helped by strong domestic demand which offset weak exports, data showed on Thursday.
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Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the economy would expand by a seasonally adjusted 1.6 percent in the January-March quarter from October-December, after upwardly revised growth of 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter.
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Annual growth in the first quarter was 7.8 percent, the economic planning agency said on Thursday, way above the market forecast of 6.1 percent, and faster than the revised annual growth of 7.1 percent in the December quarter.