• “The Monetary Board deems a strong follow-through monetary policy response as necessary to reduce the risk of a breach in the inflation target in 2024,” Governor Felipe Medalla said at the briefing, adding that further tightening would prevent inflation expectations from drifting further away from target.
• On Thursday, the governor said more increases are possible and that a pause at the March meeting is unlikely. “It’s feasible” that authorities may wind down tightening in the first half, Medalla said.
• The latest move is the fourth half-point increase by BSP, which reiterated Thursday that “it stands ready to take all necessary policy action to bring inflation to within the 2-4 percent government target over the medium term.”