Philippines Finance Secretary Frederick Go stated that if oil prices continue to rise, the country's central bank may tighten monetary policy next month. In an interview on Tuesday, Go said, "If oil prices remain elevated for a sustained period, the Monetary Board is very likely to consider policy tightening at its upcoming meeting." Go is a member of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' policy-making body, which is scheduled to hold its next policy meeting on April 23. A rate hike would mark a sudden shift in the central bank's monetary stance. The bank had just cut borrowing costs by 25 basis points at its February meeting to support economic recovery. Frederick Go, who assumed his position in November of last year, noted that if the conflict in the Middle East is a short-term event, its impact on GDP growth "would be less than 10 basis points," but added, "if the conflict persists for more than six months, the impact on our GDP growth would be more significant."
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