MANILA, June 9 (Reuters) - The Philippine economy will
likely contract by 1.9% this year, weighed down by the impact of
a local volcanic eruption and the coronavirus pandemic, the
World Bank said on Tuesday.
It would be the country's first annual decline in gross
domestic product since the Asian financial crisis, Rong Qian,
senior economist at the World Bank, told a news conference.
But GDP would likely recover in 2021 as economic activity
resumes following strict quarantine measures that caused the
economy ground to a halt in mid-March, she said.