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...
Singapore-based United Overseas Bank Ltd. (UOB) expects the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to keep key interest rates unchanged this year, despite rising risks to growth and inflation from the ongoing war in the Middle East. “Amid persistent uncertainty over the Middle East conflict, we expect...
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) secured a commitment from the country’s largest manufacturers and retailers to freeze prices on essential goods through mid-April to insulate households from the inflationary fallout of escalating tensions in the Middle East. In a statement late...
The global oil shock triggered by escalating conflict in the Middle East is hitting the Philippines’ poorest households the hardest, as surging fuel costs spill over into food prices and erode purchasing power. A March 26 position paper by state-run policy think tank Philippine Institute for...
The country’s full-year inflation rate in 2025 settled at a nine-year low, even as inflation edged up to 1.8 percent in December from 1.5 percent a month earlier, driven mainly by higher prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported. National...
The country’s inflation rate slowed to 1.5 percent in November, easing from 1.7 percent in October and 2.5 percent in the same month last year, largely due to lower food prices, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday, Dec. 5. Headline inflation averaged 1.6 percent during...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) warned that the recent plunge of the peso, which has hit new lows, could reignite inflation despite projections that the November rate would settle below the central bank’s target band The BSP on Friday, Nov. 28, cited “higher electricity and oil prices,...
President Marcos expressed confidence that the Philippines is on track for recovery by next year as he met with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona to discuss the latest monetary policy decision and the country’s economic trajectory. This came as the administration continues...
Despite inflation climbing to a six-month high in September, Singapore-based Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. Ltd. (OCBC) still expects consumer prices in the Philippines to rise by less than two percent on average for the entire year. Average headline inflation stood at 1.7 percent as of...
Inflation rose to a six-month high of 1.7 percent in September, mainly due to more expensive fuel and higher vegetable prices following the onslaught of typhoons, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday, Oct. 7. The latest PSA data showed that the country’s inflation rate...
