THE WORLD BANK kept its 2026 Philippine growth forecast but trimmed its 2027 projection as it expects external risks to weigh on economic activity until next year. In its Philippine Economic Update released on Monday, the multilateral lender maintained its 3.7% growth forecast, within the government’s 3.5%-4.5% target for this year. However, the World Bank now expects the economy to expand by 5.2% next year, lower than its 5.6% projection in April. Mr. Al-Rikabi said that although the World Bank expects infrastructure spending to accelerate by the fourth quarter, the external environment remains highly uncertain. The World Bank also sharply raised its inflation forecast for 2026 to 5.8% from 2.8% previously.