Newly-appointed Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Eli Remolona said an interest rate reduction is possible within the year if inflation rate falls below 4 percent.
Remolona said the BSP’s Monetary Board might also consider an extended pause in interest rate adjustments until year-end, while it reviews all relevant data.
“We’re also looking forward to what we might do down the road. We’re not just looking at one policy rate. We’re looking at a path of the policy rate. It’s implicit in every decision we make,” he said during dinner with reporters at Manila Hotel Wednesday night.
Remolona said this would be one of the topics the MB would discuss in its next meeting.
Remolona said the extended pause would help the BSP assess the extremely high interest rate level.
He said deceleration in inflation in recent months was “better than what we expected.”