Continued vigilance over the persistent risks to the Philippine sovereign position is the vow the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has pledged after debt watcher S&P Global Ratings downgraded its outlook to ‘stable’ from ‘positive.’ S&P on Wednesday, April 9, revised the Philippines’...
The jump in the March inflation rate has set the stage for a potential 50-basis-point (bp) rate hike by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) during the second quarter, according to global investment banking giant Goldman Sachs. In an April 7 report obtained by Manila Bulletin, Goldman Sachs...
A double-digit decline in the previously record-high gold reserves, coupled with falling foreign investments, drove the Philippines’ gross international reserves (GIR)—the country’s stock of foreign currencies and other assets—to its lowest level in more than half a year last month. GIR...
Philippine banks’ exposure to real estate lending dropped to its lowest level in seven years in the fourth quarter of 2025, as domestic lenders gravitated toward other high-growth sectors while keeping real estate exposure in check. According to the latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng...
Demand for government securities (GS) improved at the start of the second quarter, but the Marcos Jr. administration still struggled to raise its planned ₱27 billion in short-term debt papers, as overall interest costs remained elevated amid anticipation of a policy hike in April. During the...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has likely exhausted its window for monetary easing as resurgent price pressures threaten to breach the upper limit of its target range, according to the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO). While the Philippine economy shows signs of stabilizing...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is moving to shield borrowers from the immediate financial fallout of natural disasters by proposing a regulatory relief package that includes a half-year moratorium on loan penalties. Under a draft BSP circular currently under review, non-bank financial...
The Philippines is more vulnerable to “stagflationary” shock than any of its Southeast Asian neighbors as surging energy costs and cooling domestic demand squeeze the country’s economy, according to Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. (OCBC) In a research note published last week, OCBC economists...
The Philippines is facing an inflationary shock that could spill over to slower economic growth, potential job losses, and more capital market outflows amid a prolonged Middle East conflict, according to the World Bank. The global oil price and supply shock wrought by the war in Iran would “raise...
If the war in the Middle East prolongs and global oil prices continue to skyrocket, the Philippine peso could breach the ₱61:$1 level in the second quarter of 2026 and even hit as low as ₱62 to ₱64 against the United States (US) dollar. “Our base case forecasts for the US dollar-Philippine...
Renewed Houthi attacks in the Red Sea are seen aggravating oil price- and supply-driven inflation pressures in the Philippines stemming from the ongoing war in the Middle East. “While the direct effect of renewed strikes on shipping in the Red Sea on aggregate world trade is likely to be limited,...
Multilateral lenders including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank Group (WBG) are moving to provide immediate financing and coordinated support to countries reeling from the economic fallout of the Middle East war. In a statement on...
