MANILA — The pass-through effect of the Philippine central bank’s series of rate hikes since 2022 has been “quite significant”, a senior central bank official said on Friday.
“In all the rates that we were monitoring, pass throughs are quite significant so transmission is intact,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila told reporters.
Since May 2022, the BSP has hiked its benchmark rate by a total of 450 basis points to rein in inflation. In December, it kept its policy rate PHCBIR=ECI steady at 6.5% for a second straight meeting.
Headline inflation last month returned to target to 3.9%, but average inflation for 2023 stood at 6.0%, well above the central bank’s 2%-4% target.
The rate-setting monetary board will meet on February 15 to review interest rates.
— Reporting by Mikhail Flores; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor
