MANILA (Reuters) — The Philippine central bank could cut its policy rate twice more this year, its governor said on Thursday, with benign inflation levels providing room to ease the country’s monetary settings.
“There is room, because inflation is low,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Eli Remolona told reporters on Thursday.
BSP delivered a widely expected rate cut last month, bringing its key rate to 5.25 percent, its lowest level in two and a half years.
Further policy easing could help boost economic growth after the government revised its target downwards for this year to 5.5 percent-6.5 percent from 6 percent-8 percent, and also narrowed growth goals for 2026 to 2028.
Inflation in May eased for a fourth straight month to 1.3 percent. The statistics agency will release June inflation data on Friday and the central bank expects consumer price rises to have fallen below its 2 percent-4 percent target over the month.
Economists in a Reuters poll expect inflation to have picked up to 1.5 percent in June.
Remolona said BSP is keeping its inflation target unchanged for now.
The central bank has three remaining policy meetings for the year.(Reuters).
