Philippines central bank not seeing rate hike despite peso weakness: finmin

THE Philippine central bank has no plans to hike interest rates despite the peso’s weakness against the US dollar, the country’s finance minister said on Thursday (Apr 25), even as its governor vowed to act against excessive volatility.

“Policy rate will be adjusted based on inflation outlook,” Recto said in a test message, adding that the outlook for inflation is within the central bank’s 2 to 4 per cent target.

Recto sits as the government’s sole representative to the central bank’s seven-member monetary board, which will next set rates on May 16.

In a statement, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governor Eli Remolona said they “stands ready to manage any unnecessary movement and excessive volatility” of the peso, which closed weaker at 57.78 per US dollar on Thursday from the previous close of 57.55.

The BSP kept its benchmark rate steady at 6.5 per cent for a fourth straight meeting on Apr 8, despite annual inflation picking up for a second straight month in March to 3.7 per cent. REUTERS