• The Philippine central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a 17-year high to shore up the peso and check inflation.
• The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas left the target rate at 6.50% for a fifth straight meeting on Thursday, as expected by all 26 economists in a Bloomberg survey. The decision follows a mixed bag of domestic price and growth data last week as well as recent signals from US policymakers about the need to keep borrowing costs elevated for longer.
• Price gains in the Philippines quickened for a third straight month in April as the dry weather constrains farm output. The peso’s fall to near the key 58-per-dollar level earlier this week adds to worries over the inflation outlook.
• The Philippine economy sustained its growth momentum in the first quarter but strains were showing as consumption, which is the main driver of domestic expansion, rose at its slowest pace post pandemic.