Philippine central bank sees no urgent need to change policy

[MANILA] The Philippine central bank sees no urgent need to change its monetary policy stance, its governor said on Tuesday, after March inflation came in within analysts' and the central bank's expectations.

The consumer price index in March rose 1.1 per cent from a year earlier, matching analysts' estimates and within the central bank's 0.6-1.4 per cent forecast for the month.

The March headline figure is "also consistent with our latest runs showing that over the policy horizon inflation will slowly move up to within target," Governor Amando Tetangco said in a mobile text message to reporters.

The central bank expects inflation in 2016 to be close to the low end of the government's 2-4 per cent target range, he said.

REUTERS