By Kosaku Narioka
The Philippine central bank held its policy rate steady to mitigate upside risks to inflation following a recent pickup in price pressures.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Eli Remolona said Thursday that the central bank kept its benchmark overnight reverse repurchase rate unchanged at 6.50%. It also maintained its benchmark lending rate at 7.00%.
All nine economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected that the central bank would stand pat.
The country's consumer-price index in April rose 3.8% from a year earlier, up from a 3.7% increase in March. That compares with the central bank's inflation target range of 2%-4%.
Upside risks to inflation could keep the central bank from cutting rates any time soon, some economists say.
The country's gross domestic product rose 5.7% in the first quarter from the same period a year earlier, thanks to broad improvements led by services and industry sectors, government data showed earlier this month.
Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-16-24 0330ET
