Central Bank of The Philippines
Central Bank Rate Changes Today in Turkey (-100 Basis Points) and the Philppines (+50 bps)
October 22, 2026
As was anticipated, officials at the Central Bank of Turkey lowered their one-week repo rate by a full percentage point to 36.0%. That was the rates first change since a similarly-sized cut last January, which in turn came after cuts totaling 900 basis points during the second half of 2025. The resumed rate-cutting cycle was […] More
More Risk Aversion and a Trio of Central Bank Interest Rate Decisions
October 22, 2026
It’s been another day of scary news from West Asia. After U.S. negotiator Witkoff sucked up to Russian President Putin and elicited an agreement to restart three-way peace talks among Ukraine, the U.S. and Russia, the latter struck its southern neighbor very hard militarily overnight. Even more worrisome, Washington has requested its diplomats to leave […] More
Central Bank Interest Rates Raised in South Korea and the Philippines
August 27, 2026
entral bank interest rates were hiked by 25 basis points today in South Korea and the Philippines to 3.0% and 5.0%, respectively. In South Korea’s case, this was the second such tightening in a row from a 2.5% base maintained from May 2025 until the monthly review this past July. Despite slightly lower inflation in […] More
Interest Rate Hikes in Indonesia, the Philippines and Czech Republic but a Cut in Brazil
June 18, 2026
Bank Indonesia’s 25-basis point rate hike to 5.75% followed an unscheduled review just eight days earlier and an initial tightening done in May. The haste implied by this sequence of increases totaling a full percentage point has been motivated by inflation of 3.1% that exceeds the 2.5% target mid-point but even more so by the […] More
Rate Hike at the Central Bank of the Philippines
April 23, 2026
There’s been a 25-basis point central bank interest rate hike in the Philippines, its first increase since a similarly-sized move in October 2023 that lifted the rate then to cyclical high of 6.5% where it stayed until easing commenced in August 2024. Cuts totaling 75 basis points in the second half of 2024, 125 bps […] More
Middle East Holding Spotlight: No Hopeful Signs & More Evidence of the War’s Economic Impact
April 23, 2026
Nothing encouraging has surfaced regarding a resumption of peace talks between the United States and Iran. Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains stalled, and there have been more ship seizure incidents by both sides. Preliminary findings from April purchasing manager surveys and other data out today point to a big blow to business […] More
Interest Rate Cut in the Philippines
February 19, 2026
There has been another interest rate cut at the Central Bank of the Philippines, the sixth in a row for this monetary authority that reviews its policy stance on a bi-monthly basis. At 4.25%, the new rate level will be back to its lowest level since November 2022 and 225 basis points below the 6.5% […] More
A U.S. Holiday and Many Central Bank Policy Reviews
June 19, 2025
In spite of the current U.S. govenment’s crusade against DEI, June 19 remains a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in 1865. Banks, the U.S. stock exchanges and non-essential federal offices are shut. In overnight trading abroad, the dollar rose 0.8% against the kiwi, 0.5% versus the Australian dollar, and 0.4% relative to the […] More
Awaiting Reciprocal Tariff Details and U.S. Producer Price Data
February 13, 2025
America’s second inflation shoe this week, the January PPI report, is due within the half hour. President Trump has also promised an announcement today on “reciprocal tariffs,” conceivably the biggest round of levies thus far, and he will be meeting today with Indian Prime Minister Modi. A phone call earlier this week with Russian President […] More
Filipino Rate Cut
December 19, 2024
As analysts were expecting, a 25-basis point interest rate cut was announced today at the Central Bank of the Philippines. At 5.75%, the new rate will be its lowest in 22 months and down from 6.50% maintained from October 2023 until an initial cut in August 2024. Inflation is projected to stay under the 2-4% […] More
