Philippines minister says moratorium on rate hikes likely at next bank meeting

(Correction to “7 people” in 6th paragraph)

MANILA: Philippines Treasury Secretary Benjamin Diocno said on Sunday he believes the central bank is leaning towards a moratorium on rate hikes at its next monetary policy meeting scheduled for May.

“Non-monetary measures to mitigate inflation may more effectively address the problem,” including measures already taken by fiscal authorities, Diokno said in a statement.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas decided to continue its fight against inflation with rate hikes on Thursday, although the pace slowed to 6.25% from 25 basis points (bps).

BSP Governor Felipe Medalla said the central bank’s next policy move would depend heavily on consumer price movements in the coming months.

The recent BSP rate hike brought the total tightening realized since May to 425 bps, but Diokno said the impact is still fully felt given that monetary policy often works with long lags. not absorbed by the economy.

“In my view, the monetary authorities have done enough, and monetary policy is not the only game.Moreover, monetary policy has been working long behind,” Central Bank Governors said.