MANILA • The Philippines' economic contraction moderated in the third quarter by less than forecast, signalling an unsteady recovery from the pandemic even as movement restrictions were relaxed and businesses reopened. Gross domestic product shrank 11.5 per cent in the three months through September from a year earlier, an improvement from the second quarter's revised 16.9 per cent drop. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey was for a 9.6 per cent decline. Compared with the previous quarter, the economy expanded 8 per cent, below the median estimate of 8.9 per cent among seven economists surveyed, yesterday's data showed. The first sequential growth this year shows the economy is on the mend heading into next year, Acting Economic Planning Secretary Karl Chua said. "The economic team is optimistic that the worst is over for the country," said Mr Chua, adding that officials would reassess their economic projections in the light of the data. "The path is clearer to a stronger bounceback in 2021." The peso fell 0.2 per cent to 48.25 per US dollar as of 11.08am in Manila. The country's stock benchmark rose over 3 per cent, joining a rally in Asia on vaccine optimism. The quarter-on...