Monetary Board raises policy interest rate to 3.25%
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. (File photo / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — The Monetary Board (MB) on Thursday raised the key policy rate of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas by 75 basis points to 3.25 percent effective immediately.
The interest rate on the BSP’s overnight borrowings from banks was changed during a regular meeting of the MB.
The next policy meeting of the MB, when such decisions are usually made, is set for August 18.
READ: BSP ready to raise rates by 50 bps in August
Also, the MB raised the interest rates on the BSP’s overnight deposit and lending facilities to 2.75 percent and 3.75 percent, respectively.
“In raising the policy interest rate anew, the Monetary Board recognized that a significant further tightening of monetary policy was warranted by signs of sustained and broadening price pressures amid the ongoing normalization of monetary policy settings,” said BSP Governor Felipe Medalla.
Inflation was pegged at 6.1 percent in June and it is expected to rise further in the coming months.
“The Monetary Board noted that favorable conditions arising from the strong rebound in growth thus far in the year suggest that the domestic economy can accommodate a further tightening of monetary policy settings,” he added.
The Philippine economy regained pre-pandemic levels, growing at 8.3 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022.
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