MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippine economy clocked solid growth in the third quarter, topping forecasts and expanding at its fastest pace in a year, supported by strong industrial output and services, the statistics agency said on Thursday.
Gross domestic product rose 6.9 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, the statistics agency said on Thursday, picking up from the upwardly revised 6.7 percent pace in the second quarter.
It was above the 6.5 percent forecast in a Reuters poll.
The Southeast Asian nation is among the fastest growing economies in Asia, expanding more than 6 percent for nine consecutive quarters.
But challenges remain, such as a weak peso at a near 11-year low and potential risk from any delay in President Rodrigo Duterte's ambitious infrastructure overhaul.
Growth on a quarterly basis, however, cooled at 1.3 percent compared with the previous quarter's upwardly revised 2.0 percent and slower than the 1.6 percent forecast in a Reuters poll.
"We are on track to meeting the full-year target range (of 6.5-7.5 percent)," Socio-economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said in a media briefing.
Like its peers in Asia, the Philippines is benefiting from the steady rebound in exports, which were up 12.2 percent in the nine months to September.
Higher agricultural output, thanks to good weather, also helped prop up the economy.