BSP: Rate cut on the table in Feb.

FURTHER MONETARY POLICY easing might come as early as the Monetary Board’s first meeting for 2026 amid subdued inflation and dismal economic growth last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

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Asked about the likelihood of a February cut, BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. said: “(It’s) on the table. Unlikely pero puwede naman (but we could deliver it).”

Mr. Remolona said that the latest December inflation print of 1.8% is a “reasonably low rate,” even as it quickened from 1.5% in November. Year on year, it slowed from 2.9% in December 2024.

Philippine economic growth in 2025 also likely fell below the government's target, he added.

“I can say that we're very close to where we want to be in terms of policy,” he told journalists in Mandaluyong City.

“There’s a chance that we may cut some more, and there’s also a chance that we may not move at all. But there’s not a lot of probability that we will raise in 2026.”

The Monetary Board ended last year with a fifth straight 25-basis-point (bp) cut at its Dec. 11 meeting, bringing the key policy rate to its lowest in over three years at 4.5%.

It has so far delivered 200 bps in total cuts since it began its easing cycle in August 2024.