Manila: The Philippine bond market continued to grow in the second quarter of the year but at a slower pace than the recorded expansion in the first quarter. In its Asia Bond Monitor report released on Monday, the ADB said the total bonds amounted to PHP12.5 trillion (USD213.8 billion) in the second quarter, up by 1.9 percent quarter-on-quarter. The expansion in the second quarter was slower than the 2.8 percent growth in the first quarter of the year. "Reduced issuance in both the government and corporate segments moderated the expansion of the Philippines' local currency bond market," the ADB said. The ADB said government bonds grew by 2.8 percent from the previous quarter due to a lower volume of maturities, while corporate debt stock contracted by 7.7 percent. The Philippines' sustainable bond market was dominated by sustainability bond instruments denominated in foreign currency. The ADB, meanwhile, said that in the third quarter of the year, local currency government bond yields declined across mo st tenors. Yields fell by an average of 52 basis points for tenors of two years and longer, largely driven by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) monetary policy easing. Last month, the BSP reduced its overnight reverse repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 6.25 percent, citing that inflation was consistent with its target path and is expected to trend downward for the rest of 2024. "Rising expectations of a policy rate cut by the United States Federal Reserve also contributed to the fall in domestic yields during the review period," the ADB said. Source: Philippines News agency