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BSP keeps benchmark rate steady at record low 2 percent

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ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA <strong>(UPDATE)</strong> - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Thursday kept the country&#x27;s overnight reverse repurchase rate at a record low of 2 percent to support economic recovery. </p><p>The BSP has kept interest rates at historic lows for a year now, after a surprise 25 basis point cut in November last year. </p><p>BSP Gov. Benjamin Diokno earlier said that &quot;the harm from early monetary tightening exceeds the harm of moving too late, given the nascent state of economic recovery.&quot;</p><p>Despite inflation hovering above the upper band of the government&#x27;s 2 to 4 percent target range, it is still &quot;transitory&quot; and is expected to settle back at the mid-level of target by next year, the central bank has said.</p><p>For 2021, inflation could settle at 4.3 percent, revised downward from 4.4 percent.</p><p>Inflation could be at 3.3 percent in 2022 and 3.2 percent in 2023. </p><p>Inflation eased to 4.6 percent in October, its lowest in 3 months despite the spike in fuel prices. </p><p>&quot;On balance, the sum of new data suggests that there remains scope to hold monetary policy settings steady amid a manageable inflation environment,&quot; Diokno said.</p><p>&quot;The Monetary Board maintains that keeping a patient hand on the BSP’s policy levers, along with appropriate fiscal and health interventions, will keep the economic recovery more sustainable over the next few quarters,&quot; he added.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/11/15/21/5-to-6-pct-economic-growth-target-attainable-bsp">BSP says 5 to 6 pct economic growth target for 2021 &#x27;attainable&#x27;</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/11/05/21/inflation-slows-down-to-46-percent-in-october">Inflation slows down to 4.6 percent in October</a></li></ul><p>With the projected downtrend in inflation, Diokno earlier said the new government growth target of 5 to 6 percent for the year is attainable.</p><p>The economy could revert back to its pre-pandemic level next year, economic managers have said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/11/15/21/5-to-6-pct-economic-growth-target-attainable-bsp">BSP says 5 to 6 pct economic growth target for 2021 &#x27;attainable&#x27;</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/11/09/21/philippine-gdp-likely-return-to-pre-pandemic-level-by-2022">Philippine economy likely to return to pre-pandemic level by 2022: NEDA</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1662991" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><div><strong>-- with a report from Warren De Guzman, ABS-CBN News</strong></div>

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Thursday kept the benchmark rate at 2 percent to support economic recovery. 