MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said on Thursday he does not expect a future interest rate hike with inflation easing and expects rates to go down in the second half of the year.
“I don’t expect a future rate hike because inflation is going down …I think our policy rates today are high enough,” Recto said.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has raised its benchmark rate by a total of 450 basis points since May 2022 to rein in inflation, including an off-cycle hike in October last year.
Rates have been kept steady in the central bank’s final two meetings in 2023.
Recto is the government’s representative to BSP’s monetary board, which will meet on Feb.
15 to review policy rates.
(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Martin Petty)
