The Philippine economy contracted 0.9% QoQ in Q2 2023, defying a forecasted 0.5% growth, the first quarterly decline in two years. Services activity fell by 1%, while the industry sector saw a 0.7% drop, with manufacturing and mining taking hits. Meanwhile, FDI inflows slumped 34% YoY in May to USD 0.5 bln. Over the first five months, net inflows decreased 20.8% YoY to USD 3.4 bln amid global inflation.