MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines economics minister on Friday cautioned against further central bank interest rate hikes that he said could hurt consumers already reeling from high inflation.
“If I were in the monetary board, I would say no (to rate hikes). We are the most aggressive in the region in raising interest rates,” Balisacan told a press briefing.
Annual inflation quickened for a second month in September due mainly to the faster pace of increases in food and transport costs, raising the possibility the central bank would resume hiking rates at its meeting in November.
The 6.1% inflation in September, which was the fastest in four months and above the 5.3% rate in August, brought the year-to-date average inflation to 6.6%, well outside the central bank’s 2%-4% target for the year.
But Balisacan, who is not a member of the central bank’s policy-making monetary board, said raising interest rates “can hurt” the economy and consumers.
(Reporting by Mikhail Flores; Editing by Martin Petty)
