American financial giant Goldman Sachs Group Inc. expects the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to raise key borrowing costs through three more 25-basis-point (bp) hikes to 5.5 percent, citing the looming inflation threat from El Niño coupled with the oil shock—a “quicker” transmission of...
Consumer prices likely moderated in June on the back of lower food and fuel costs, though sticky underlying pressures are poised to keep the central bank on a hawkish path. Headline inflation may have cooled to as low as six percent last month, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said in a...
Factory gate prices accelerated further in May, bucking the easing in consumer inflation as higher manufacturing costs reached their fastest pace in more than three years, driven mainly by the electronics industry. The latest preliminary Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data on Tuesday, June...
British banking giant HSBC expects the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points (bps) following its recent hikes as inflation is projected to significantly overshoot the target ceiling this year, while economic growth remains dampened. “Higher oil...
Property costs accelerated in the first quarter of 2026, signaling a broader recovery in the residential market after successive declines, although tighter lending standards continued to dampen borrowers’ appetite for property purchases. Property inflation quickened in the first quarter,...
Think tank Capital Economics expects the Philippine economy to grow below the government’s downgraded targets over the next three years, warning that the country’s recovery would likely remain sluggish as weak confidence, tight fiscal policy, and the lingering impact of recent shocks weigh on...
Global credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has revised its outlook for the Philippine banking sector from ‘neutral’ to ‘deteriorating,’ warning that recent macroeconomic pressures will likely weaken borrowers’ repayment capacity and compress bank earnings. In a June 25 commentary, Fitch...
The Philippines is grappling with the fastest inflation rate among Southeast Asia’s major economies, as the country’s acute exposure to crude volatility from the United States-Iran conflict offsets the recent cooling in consumer price growth. While aggregate inflation across the ASEAN-6 nations...
Inflation carries a high likelihood of becoming de-anchored once fresh price shocks emerge, think tank Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) warned, citing in particular the looming risk of a “super” El Niño driving up food costs. “With inflation already well above target, new price shocks are...
Singapore-based Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. Ltd. (OCBC) has significantly lowered its economic growth forecast for the Philippines, warning that the country’s vulnerability to stagflationary pressures and early signs of economic strain could result in its weakest growth pace since the peak of...
Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank AG is expecting the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to further raise key borrowing costs twice more to reach 5.25 percent, standing firmly by its assumption that the hiking cycle is not yet over and that the looming El Niño further threatens price spikes. Deutsche...
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...
