Central Banks
Philippines Signals More Rate Increases as Indonesia Pauses
- Philippine vows to do more to rein in price pressures
- No need for more hikes, says Indonesia central bank chief
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Two Southeast Asian central banks took divergent monetary paths Thursday, with Indonesia halting its policy tightening as price gains eased and the Philippines sticking with outsized interest-rate moves to tame still-hot inflation.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas raised its benchmark rate by 50 basis points to 6%, as predicted by 13 of 25 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Bank Indonesia’s decision minutes later was a widely expected pause, as Governor Perry Warjiyo said the policy was tight enough at 5.75% to cool inflation without hurting the economy’s recovery.