Philippines Holds Off ‘Painful’ Rate Hike in Surprise Meeting

The Philippine central bank refrained from raising interest rates in an off-cycle meeting on Thursday, even as the Iran war is set to drive inflation well above its target this year.

“Normally, with inflation going where it’s going, we would have hiked,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Eli Remolona said in a briefing after policymakers kept the key rate at 4.25% in an unscheduled meeting.