Likely US Federal Reserve rate hikes do not mean the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) needs to follow suit, central bank Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said on Friday. “Our monetary policy is independent of what Fed does,” Espenilla told reporters in response to the release of the minutes of the US central bank’s October 30-November 1 policy meeting. Given current conditions, Espenilla said that monetary authorities were of the view that prevailing monetary policy settings remained appropriate. Given the country’s current account deficit, ANZ said the peso could weaken past P52 to the dollar next year unless the BSP raises interest rates. “Domestic interest rates are not high enough to attract sufficient foreign portfolio flows to fund the deficit,” ANZ said.

Source: Manila Times November 24, 2017 17:26 UTC