BSP seen keeping key rates steady

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas building. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is seen keeping its key interest rates unchanged during its monetary setting this Thursday despite prospects of faster consumer price increases through 2017.

JP Morgan regional analyst Nur Raisah Rasid said in a research note that the country’s inflation rate was expected to drift higher this fourth quarter on account of the recent upswing in commodity prices.

The research note was issued after it was reported that the Philippine annual inflation rate remained at 2.3 percent in October, same level as in September.

This was within the BSP’s forecast of 1.9-2.7 percent for the month.

“With that said, the likelihood of a change in monetary policy-setting in the near term remains low as the central bank implements its move to an interest rate corridor mechanism and we expect inflation momentum to remain weak,” the JP Morgan analyst said.

For the first 10 months of the year, the country’s inflation rate averaged at 1.6 percent, still undershooting the government’s 2016 target range of 2 to 4 percent.

In a separate research note, Citibank Philippines economist Jun Trinidad said the prevailing consumer price index (CPI) trend in the Philippines “isn’t compelling for an imminent change in policy settings” by the Monetary Board at this week’s scheduled meeting.  —Doris Dumlao-Abadilla