The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday further lowered its growth projection for the Philippine economy this year as the country continues to struggle with containing the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, hampering recovery.

In its Asian Development Outlook 2020 Update supplement, the Manila-based multilateral lender said it downgraded its Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) forecast for 2020 to -8.5 percent from the previous -7.3 percent, as “household consumption and investment have fallen more than expected.”