MANILA, Philippines — Factory activity growth in the Philippines sagged for the seventh straight month in June, with the government's chief economist calling for urgent implementation of reforms that would stem the manufacturing sector’s downtrend.

Manufacturing output—as measured by the Volume of Production Index—fell 10.5% in June.

The latest reading was lower than 9.9% drop recorded in May and was a reversal of 9.8% growth logged a year ago.

The slump was due to decreases registered in 11 major industry groups, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported, with double-digit contraction posted by petroleum products (-69.3%), furniture and fixtures (-40.5%) and basic metals (-18.3%).

In a statement, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said production could be crimped as the seasonal slack in domestic demand and business activities during the rainy season limits overall manufacturing growth.

“We need to instill a sense of urgency in government to implement economic reforms,” Pernia said.

“Manufacturing output will likely remain muted in the near term as business and consumer outlook for the third quarter of 2019 turned less upbeat,” Pernia added. — Ian Nicolas Cigaral