(Sa gitna ng paghupa ng inflation) INTEREST RATE HIKE MALABO

WALANG inaasahang panibagong pagtaas sa interest rates si Finance Secretary Ralph Recto sa gitna ng paghupa ng inflation.

“I don’t expect a future rate hike because inflation is going down and it seems that it’s going down globally also,” pahayag ni Recto sa sidelines ng National Tax Campaign kick-off ng Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) noong Huwebes.

Si Recto ang kinatawan ng gobyerno sa Monetary Board (MB) ng Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Ang headline inflation ay bumagal sa  2.8 percent noong Enero, ang pinakamababang naitala magmula noong Oktubre 2020.

Pinanatili ng MB ang  policy rates sa dalawang magkasunod na pagpupulong. Nakatakda nitong idaos ang rate-setting meeting nito sa Pebrero 15.

“I think our policy rates today are high enough,” ani Recto.

Sa kasalukuyan ay itinaas ng BSP ang policy rates ng kabuuang 450 basis points magmula noong May 2022 upang pahupain ang mataas na inflation. Dahil dito ay umabot na ang benchmark policy rate sa 6.5 percent.

“Inflation is on its way down. Assuming it continues to go down and within the range, then realistically, ang susunod dyan ay (what follows is) the lowering of the interest rates,” aniya.

Gayunman, sinabi ni Recto na pagdating sa policy easing, maaaring sumunod ang BSP sa United States Federal Reserve.

“There’s a possibility na bumaba ‘yan. It all depends on what the US Fed does, as well. And then we look at our own data too,” sabi pa niya.

“But I think the key is what happens with the Fed – are they (going to) start reducing rates? If they do, then possibly we can start reducing rates. Palagay ko, kailangan mauna ang Fed  then we take a look at our own data. We live in a global world, we’re affected with what the Fed does, as well,” dagdag pa ni Recto.                              

(PNA)