“Moving forward, the BSP will continue to monitor emerging price developments to help ensure that its primary mandate of price stability conducive to balanced and sustainable economic growth is achieved,” the agency said.
Earlier, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno reiterated his stance on maintaining interest rates as low as possible for as long as possible to help the Philippine economy from its deepest postwar slump due to the coronavirus pandemic. Currently, the central bank’s overnight borrowing rate, which influences how much banks price their commercial loans, stands at a record low of 2 percent, with market watchers not expecting the monetary authority to raise rates anytime until at least mid-2022.
He warned that the reimposition of quarantine measures to arrest the recent wave of COVID-19 cases could pose a risk to the ongoing economic recovery effort. To this end, targeted fiscal and health interventions, especially the acceleration of the government’s vaccination program, will be crucial in safeguarding public health and preventing deeper negative effects on the Philippine economy, he said. INQ