Following weaker-than-expected Philippine economic expansion in the first quarter of 2026, Singapore-based United Overseas Bank Ltd. (UOB) slashed its full-year growth forecast to 3.2 percent from a more optimistic five percent previously. Excluding the contraction during the peak of Covid-19...
Samarkand, UZBEKISTAN — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said central banks should be cautious about raising interest rates too quickly in response to supply shock-driven inflation, even as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is now widely expected to tighten monetary policy further after April...
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...
New York-based Moody’s Analytics expects the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to stand pat at this week’s policy meeting, despite a slightly worsening inflation outlook following the March price uptick. Analysts at Moody’s Analytics wrote in a commentary last Friday, April 17, that...
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...
Private sector economists are split over whether the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will raise interest rates this week, as the need to anchor inflation expectations and defend the peso battles concerns over the fragile economic recovery. Of 10 economists surveyed, five expect a 25-basis-point...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
Singapore-based United Overseas Bank (UOB) expects lower interest rates to lift Philippine economic growth in the near term, despite lingering global challenges that would likely expand the domestic economy below the government’s goal for the year. In its Quarterly Global Outlook report for the...
