MALACAÑANG shrugged off Thursday the announcement of the United States (US) Federal Reserve to raise the interest rate for the second time in 10 years.
“The US interest rate hike has long been anticipated,” said Communications Secretary Martin Andanar.
On Wednesday, the Fed increased the federal funds rate to a range between 0.50 percent and 0.75 percent. It also indicated that they could hike the funds target rate three times next year.
Andanar said the economic managers of the Duterte administration expressed confidence that the government can overcome any external shocks because of the country's robust economic fundamentals.
He was also optimistic that the business firms operating in the country would be of big help to sustain the economic growth.
“The Duterte administration’s economic managers are confident that the domestic economy can withstand any external shocks as our economic fundamentals remain strong. More so, the business community stays upbeat on the country’s growth prospects in the years ahead,” he said.
Andanar said the government’s commitment to push for an “aggressive” economic development would put the country to the “golden age of infrastructure.”
He said that the administration's 10-point socioeconomic agenda would be able to protect the country from any unexpected changes in the economic environment worldwide.
“This will further insulate our industries from the vagaries of the global economic environment,” he said. (Sunnex)
