THE economy likely decelerated in the second quarter, analysts polled by The Manila Times said, given the impact of a widening trade deficit and above-target inflation.

Estimates for the April-June period ranged from 6.5 to 7 percent with a 6.6 percent average, lower than the revised 6.7-percent expansion recorded a year earlier and the 6.8 percent posted during the first quarter of 2018.