Filipino consumers are falling behind their Asian neighbors in bouncing back from the Covid-19 pandemic as low-paying jobs, shrinking savings, and slowing remittances hit household spending. According to a report by Dutch bank ING, while shoppers in India and Japan have resumed pre-pandemic...
Persistent price pressures are expected to keep the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on alert, but foreign observers are now urging a more dovish stance, including a potential year-long pause, following the central bank 's “restrained” rate hike to 4.75 percent. British banking giant...
Stubborn inflation is forcing the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to seriously consider higher borrowing costs, a move that threatens to worsen the sharp economic slowdown already hitting the country. Since the BSP delivered a quarter-point hike to 4.5 percent in April, calls for further...
Japanese financial giant MUFG Bank Ltd. revealed that the Philippine peso has emerged as the worst-performing currency in Asia since the flare-up of deepening military tensions between the United States (US) and Iran. According to data monitored by MUFG covering 11 Asian currencies, the peso has...
The Philippine central bank faces an intensifying divide among private-sector economists over the trajectory of borrowing costs, with a lone dissenting voice branding recent monetary tightening as “misguided” following the sharp slowdown in economic output. While a majority of analysts maintain...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is facing mounting pressure to deliver a more aggressive interest rate hike or a rare off-cycle move after inflation surged to a three-year high in April. British banking giant Barclays is now pricing in three consecutive 25-basis-point increases, which would...
Signs of stagflation are surfacing in the Philippine economy as it enters the second quarter of 2026, with private sector economists warning of a precarious mix of stalled growth and surging consumer prices. The country’s economic output likely posted only a tepid recovery from the previous...
High energy prices and persistent geopolitical instability are poised to deepen the Philippines’ external imbalances, heightening depreciation risks for an already fragile peso, according to analysts at Dutch financial giant ING ING wrote in its latest report, published last Friday night, that it...
Monetary authorities in the Philippines and Vietnam are seen leading the hawkish camp in tightening policy as consumer prices in the Philippines risk absorbing sustained elevated costs arising from the Middle East conflict. “Should energy prices remain elevated, the Philippines and Vietnam are...
While Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growth showed relative strength in the second quarter, private-sector economists believe it is not strong enough to prevent the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) from further reducing interest rates, as inflation is expected to remain soft and growth...
Despite United States (US) President Donald Trump’s surprising decision to raise tariffs by three percentage points on Philippine exports, the foreign exchange (forex) market showed minimal concern, according to Dutch financial giant ING. “While Trump’s tariff hike on the Philippines—from...
With new tariffs turning out “worse than expected” for Asian economies, Dutch financial giant ING said the Philippines’ exclusion from the revised list could give the country a trade advantage, potentially allowing it to outperform its regional peers. “Interestingly, countries like India,...
