Central Banks
Costlier Rice Unlikely to Spur Indonesia, Philippine Rate Action
- ‘Hawkish hold’ seen from both Southeast Asian central banks
- Food inflation, currency slump add risks to policy horizon
A worker moves a sack of freshly harvested rice in Naujan town, Oriental Mindoro, the Philippines.
Photographer: Veejay Villafranca/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Central banks in Indonesia and the Philippines will likely leave borrowing costs unchanged as they weigh inflationary pressures including surging rice prices against risks to economic growth and their currencies.
Twenty of 22 economists polled by Bloomberg expect the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to keep its target rate 6.25% Thursday, while two penciled in a quarter-point hike. Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia will probably hold its seven-day reverse repurchase rate at 5.75%, according to all 27 analysts surveyed.