MANILA, Feb 4 — The Philippine central bank will focus on inflation rather than the Federal Reserve’s recent policy action when it meets on February 16 to review key interest rates, its governor said on Saturday.
“Next meeting will focus on inflationary expectations in the Philippine, not the Fed’s 25 bps rate increase,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla told reporters in a phone message.
Philippine inflation was likely to be within a range of 7.5 per cent to 8.3 per cent in January, the central bank said on Tuesday, following the 8.1 per cent rate in December, which was a 14-year high. The statistics agency will release inflation data on February 7.
— Reuters
(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Chris Reese)
