BSP Carefully Weighs Moves as Inflation Cools in February

As headline inflation surprises to the downside by hitting 2.1 percent in February, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) signaled that it would carefully assess monetary policy adjustments to support economic growth while ensuring price stability.

- KEISHA TA-ASAN

Headline inflation fell to 2.1 percent in February from 2.9 percent in January, a sharper decline than market expectations and the BSP’s own forecast range of 2.2 to three percent.

This brought the year-to-date average inflation to 2.5 percent, well within the government’s target range of two to four percent.

“The February inflation outturn supports the BSP’s prevailing assessment that inflation will remain within the target range over the policy horizon,” the BSP said in a statement late Wednesday.