MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) may deliver one final rate increase this month before bringing its tightening cycle to a close, Bank of America (BofA) said, as it expects economic growth to remain weak through the end of the year.
In a note to clients on Tuesday, Jojo Gonzales, a research analyst at Bank of America, said the central bank could raise its benchmark rate by another half a percentage point at its Aug. 27 policy meeting, potentially marking the final move in a rate-hiking cycle that began in April.
READ: Anemic GDP seen to temper rate hikes
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Bank of America maintained its growth forecasts of 2.5 percent for this year and 3.5 percent for next year. Gonzales said the economy’s performance in the first half was broadly in line with the bank’s outlook and that the subdued pace of growth was likely to persist through the rest of the year.FEATURED STORIES
