Procurement News Notice |
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| PNN | 7066 |
| Work Detail | Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. yesterday said there was still no “strong” reason to change its current monetary policy stance. Tetangco made the comment after the government released its latest inflation data for the Month of August which dropped to 1.8 percent compared to July’s 1.9 percent, below the target range of two percent and four percent. “There appears to be no strong need to change stance of policy,” he said. “But we are mindful of possible weather-related supply disruptions as well as financial market volumes from investor rebalancing. We will make adjustments as needed.” The August inflation was within the BSP’s forecast range of 1.6 percent to 2.4 percent for the month. “The August turnout was slower than prior month (1.9 percent) due to slower increases in food and non-alcoholic beverages. This also brings year-to-date average to 1.5 percent,” said Tetangco. “These are consistent with our view that inflation remains manageable and will move to within forecast by 2017-2018.” ING Bank economist Joey Cuyegkeng said inflation expectations for the next 12-18 months remain within the inflation target range of BSP even as inflation is expected to be on an uptrend. BSP forecasts 2017 average inflation of 2.9 percent from this year’s forecast average of 1.8 percent. Monetary policy is expected to remain steady in the very near term, he said. “Monetary system’s indicators remain supportive of the economy while inflation remains at low levels. Liquidity growth seems to be at a range (of 10-15 percent) that is not inflationary while supportive of economic activity,” said Cuyegkeng. He added, “uncertainties and risks affect sentiment for now after investors have discounted the government’s economic program. Fiscally induced inflation pressures from additional taxes (that are together designed to generate more government revenues than revenue losses from income tax cuts envisioned starting in 2017) is an outstanding concern and could affect monetary policy.” The BSP continues to see a manageable inflation environment and assessed that average inflation is likely to settle slightly below the two percent to four percent target band for the year and that it will “rise toward the mid-point of the target range in 2017 and 2018.” The BSP also sees overall balance of risks surrounding the inflation outlook is also seen to be broadly balanced, with upside risks emanating from pending petitions for adjustments in electricity rates. |
| Country | Philippines , South Eastern Asia |
| Industry | Financial Services |
| Entry Date | 15 Oct 2016 |
| Source | http://www.mb.com.ph/no-strong-need-to-change-policy-stance-tetangco/ |
