BSP hikes rates by 50 bps, as expected

August 18, 2022 - 3:20 PM
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Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas headquarters in Manila. The central bank’s first quarter Consumer Expectations Survey (CES) for 2018 showed an index of 1.7 percent, down from the previous quarter’s 9.5 percent and year-ago’s 8.7 percent. (Reuters file photo)

 — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) raised its benchmark interest rates by half a percentage point on Thursday, as expected, the fourth rate hike this year aimed at cooling inflation.

The BSP lifted the overnight reverse repurchase facility rate PHCBIR=ECI to 3.75%, as predicted by most economists in an Aug. 8-15 Reuters poll.

The rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities were raised by 50 basis points to 3.25% and 4.25%, respectively.

Philippine inflation, which hit a near four-year high of 6.4% last month, averaged 4.7% in January to July, above the BSP’s 2%-4% target band for the year.

— Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales, Karen Lema and Enrico Dela Cruz; Editing by Himani Sarkar