The Central Bank of the Philippines released results of its second-quarter 2025 Business Expectations Survey, showing business sentiment remained cautiously optimistic but softened. The overall business confidence index fell to 28.8% from 31.2% in the first quarter, with respondents citing external trade risks and domestic activity factors. Confidence for the next quarter and the next 12 months also moderated but stayed positive, with confidence indices of 39.3% and 51.0%, respectively. Key concerns included the potential impact of reciprocal tariffs on Philippine exports to the United States and uncertainty over their implementation, alongside an expected post-midterm election slowdown and the sugar off-milling season; firms also expected inflation over the next 12 months to remain within the National Government’s target range. The survey was conducted from 4 April to 19 May 2025 and covered 1,527 firms nationwide, with a 61.2% response rate. Samples were drawn via stratified random sampling from the Bureau van Dijk database of the top 7,000 corporations based on total assets in 2017, and the central bank noted the results are an input to monetary policy formulation.
Central Bank of the Philippines 2025-06-27
Central Bank of the Philippines publishes Q2 Business Expectations Survey showing confidence index down to 28.8%
The Central Bank of the Philippines released its second-quarter 2025 Business Expectations Survey, showing cautious yet softened business sentiment with the confidence index dropping to 28.8% from 31.2% in the previous quarter. Concerns include reciprocal tariffs on U.S. exports, post-midterm election slowdown, and inflation expectations within the government's target range. The survey, conducted with 1,527 firms, serves as input for monetary policy formulation.