BSP confident of manageable inflation in PHL

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines). Wikipedia photo

MANILA — The big drop in the country’s rate of price increases in November 2014 made Philippine monetary officials confident of manageable domestic inflation environment.

This after inflation rate last November declined to 3.7 percent from month-ago’s 4.3 percent, bringing the average for the 11-month period to 3.3 percent.

“This makes us poised to meet the 2014 target,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in a text message to reporters Friday.

The central bank’s inflation target for the year is a range between three to five percent.

The inflation rate last November is slightly higher than year-ago’s 3.3 percent.

Tetangco noted that “with lower international oil prices and a firmer peso, we are likely to see continued manageable inflation.”

“Over the policy horizon, we will continue to monitor global developments, particularly possible volatility in international commodity prices that could result from current ultra low prices , the growth prospects in the US and EU, (and) path of normalization in AEs (advance economies),” he said.

The central bank chief also said that they ” will monitor how these global developments will affect domestic growth prospects and inflation” as well as impending natural calamities.

“We will adjust the stance of policy as necessary to respond to the emerging balance of risks to inflation,” he added.