THE Philippine central bank sees room for one more interest rate cut this year, its governor said on Friday (Aug 16).
“We will always be assessing the situation, but given our current assessment, I think we have room for one more cut this year,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governor Eli Remolona said.
Remolona also said the monetary authority does not worry too much about the peso’s depreciation.
The peso slipped against the US dollar on Thursday after the central bank cut its benchmark borrowing rate by 25 basis points to 6.25 per cent, its first rate cut since November 2020. The peso further slipped to 57.15 pesos against the US dollar when markets opened on Friday.
Prior to the rate cut on Thursday, BSP had held its policy settings steady for six straight meetings since November. Previously, it had raised rates by a total of 450 basis points between May 2022 and October 2023 to rein in inflation.
Thursday’s rate cut followed data last week showing the economy grew 6.3 per cent in the second quarter from a year earlier, boosted by government spending and investments growth. REUTERS
