THE Philippine central bank sees risks to the inflation outlook leaning heavily to the upside, a member of its policymaking monetary board said on Thursday (Nov 9).

Monetary Board Member Romeo Bernardo, speaking at an economic forum, also said inflation was seen at 6.2 per cent in 2023 and 4.7 per cent in 2024, based on the central bank’s ‘risk-adjusted’ forecasts. Both were outside the central bank’s 2 per cent-4 per cent comfort range.

The central bank, which next meets on Nov 16, said this week it was prepared to take further policy action to keep inflation from getting out of hand. It raised the policy rate 25 basis points to 6.5 per cent in an off-cycle move on Oct 26.

The impact of higher interest rates on growth would likely peak in the second half of next year, Bernardo said.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.9 per cent in the third quarter from last year, surpassing the 4.7 per cent forecast in a Reuters poll, helped by a turnaround in government spending offsetting a slowdown in household consumption. REUTERS