MANILA— Philippine headline inflation in May will be “definitely lower” than April’s 6.6%, and expected to ease further to below 4% by September or October, the central bank chief said on Monday.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe Medalla also said he expects inflation to go below 2% by January next year, and average under the mid-point of the target for the entire year.
Medalla’s remarks to reporters on the sidelines of a business forum on Monday come ahead of the June 6 release of the May inflation data.
Inflation eased for a third successive month in April.
Medalla on May 18 signaled a continued pause in the BSP’s monetary policy tightening after it kept its benchmark interest rate PHCBIR=ECI steady, following a series of rate hikes totaling 425 basis points to curb inflation.
—Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Writing by Enrico Dela Cruz; Editing by Martin Petty
