MANILA — The war between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza has "hardly any" impact on the Philippine economy, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said on Friday.

The conflict could only negatively affect the Philippines if it leads to a wider conflagration in the Middle East and chokes the supply chain, NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.

"So far, there is hardly any impact," Balisacan told Palace reporters. "There have been no major disruptions in the supply chain. Oil has increase a bit, but we don’t know if that is just an initial reaction."

"If it gets into the supply chain, affects global movements of trade... the effects can be even more. But as of this date, we don’t see any major impact in the economy," he told Palace reporters.

• Israel-Hamas war a 'new cloud' over world economy: IMF

The Philippines has had "very little exposure to both Israel and Palestine" in terms of labor employment, trade, and investment, Balisacan said.

"If that spills into the other countries and it affects the supply of oil, then magkakaroon ng impact sa atin. But as of now, we are not seeing that," he said.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) earlier said it was "very closely monitoring how the situation evolves" and how it is affecting oil markets.

The IMF's World Economic Outlook, which was released earlier this week but drafted before the conflict broke out, already showed weak global growth.

Philippine-based Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce & Industry Inc, meanwhile, said business confidence would again take a hit similar to what happened when the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began.

The weekend attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel from Gaza has left thousands dead and rattled oil markets amid fears that other nations might intervene and possibly disrupt shipments in the Middle East.

Global oil prices jumped at the start of the conflict but have since eased as there was no immediate disruption to supply flows.

• Diesel, kerosene price rollback, gasoline increase seen next week

— With a report from Agence France-Presse

Watch more News on iWantTFC