According to CoinMeta, Gareth Leather, a senior Asian economist at Caixin Macro, stated that the Philippine economy saw a slowdown in growth during the third quarter, but there are already encouraging signs that the drag caused by corruption scandals is coming to an end. The main factor contributing to the slowdown was household spending, reflecting the pressure from rising energy prices. Other aspects of the third-quarter data are more promising, including exports. Although the government is working to restart stalled infrastructure projects, fiscal policy may tighten in order to curb the rising debt to GDP ratio. Caixin Macro expects GDP growth this year to be around 3.0%. This weak trend supports their view that, despite rising inflation, the central bank may have already ended its tightening measures.