MANILA — The Philippine central bank unexpectedly kept rates steady on Thursday, its governor announced, leaving the overnight borrowing rate at 5.75%.
Only two of the 26 economists polled by Reuters expected the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to hold its target repurchase rate PHCBIR=ECI at the meeting.
The BSP had cut rates by 25 basis points at each of its previous three policy reviews.
Explaining the surprise decision, Governor Eli Remolona said that further policy easing was still likely, but for now the outlook for inflation and growth was uncertain given global trade developments.
“Before deciding on the timing and magnitude of further reductions in the policy interest rate, the Monetary Board deems it prudent to weigh further assessments of the impact of global policy uncertainty and the potential effects of the actual policies,” he told a press conference.
The central bank raised its risk-adjusted inflation forecast for 2025 to 3.5% from 3.4%.
— Reporting by Mikhail Flores and Karen Lema; Editing by John Mair
