The Philippine economy grew by 4.0 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier, official data showed on Friday, following a 5.5 per cent expansion in the previous period. 

Economists in a Reuters poll had forecast growth of 5.2 per cent. It was the slowest annual growth since the first quarter of 2021, when the economy had contracted.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the economy grew 0.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter, compared with the median forecast of 0.8 per cent in a Reuters poll of economists.