Philippine Finance Chief Sees Rate Hike Cycle Nearing End

Philippine Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno sees room for one of Asia’s most hawkish central banks to further slow interest rate increases and possibly change tack as inflation expectations cool.

Asked about his view on what would be the peak rate for the Philippines, Diokno told Bloomberg Television’s Yvonne Man that it probably won’t be far from the 5.5% level it is now. The finance chief who sits in Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s seven-member Monetary Board said Wednesday that a shift to smaller, quarter-point moves was possible.

Read more…