PH factory output strengthens in April

LOCAL factory output accelerated in April on the back of a double-digit surge in coke and refined petroleum manufacturing, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday. The Value of Production Index (VaPI) grew by 14.7 percent during the month, up from 13.1 percent in March and rebounding from the 2.2-percent contraction recorded a year earlier. Volume of Production Index (VoPI) growth, meanwhile, rose to 12.0 percent from 10.2 percent a month earlier. The rate was -2.4 percent i