KONTAN.CO.ID - MANILA. The Philippine central bank said it was ready to tighten monetary policy as necessary to keep a lid on price pressures, after data on Friday showed inflation remains above target. The consumer price index in July slowed to 4.7%, statistics agency data showed, the lowest since March 2022, due to slower increases in food and utility costs. That compared with 5.4% in June and was below forecasts of 5% in a Reuters poll. Though prices cooled for a sixth straight month, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said that upside risks from wage and transport fare hikes and bottlenecks in food supply remain.
Philippine C.Bank Ready to Tighten Policy if Needed
KONTAN.CO.ID - MANILA. The Philippine central bank said it was ready to tighten monetary policy as necessary to keep a lid on price pressures, after data on Friday showed inflation remains above target. The consumer price index in July slowed to 4.7%, statistics agency data showed, the lowest since March 2022, due to slower increases in food and utility costs. That compared with 5.4% in June and was below forecasts of 5% in a Reuters poll. Though prices cooled for a sixth straight month, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said that upside risks from wage and transport fare hikes and bottlenecks in food supply remain.