The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas maintained its overnight policy rate at 3.0%, even as inflation hit the top of its target range.
"While latest baseline forecasts show higher inflation outturns for 2018, the inflation path is expected to moderate and settle within the inflation target range of 3.0%, plus or minus 1.0 percentage point, in 2019," the central bank said.
Annual inflation accelerated to a more-than-three-year high of 4% in January after the government rolled out higher taxes and amid rises in food, alcohol and tobacco prices.
Central bank Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. told S&P Global Market Intelligence last month he sees no need to hike interest rates at the current time, which have been kept unchanged since September 2014.
