BSP chief: Lower rates until next year possible

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said the Monetary Board might continue easing its policy rate in December until next year in small degrees or by 25 basis points.

"That's possible. We're still in the easing cycle in the absence of big bad news. We also expect inflation this month to remain within the BSP target," Remolona on Tuesday told the media during a break from the third BSP and International Monetary Fund's Systemic Risk Dialogue in Mactan, Cebu. The dialogue runs from 19 to 20 November.

For next year, Remolona said the Monetary Board is looking for a reduction of around 100 basis points. "The figure could be less or more than 100 basis points. We have yet to see the November inflation to come up with a clearer policy," he said. BSP aims to stabilize inflation within 2 to 4 percent.

The central bank cut its policy rate by a total of 50 basis points in August and October toward the current 6 percent, after inflation declined to 1.9 percent in September from 3.3 percent in August based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.