Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said Thursday inflation in the third quarter remained benign or within the target range of 2 percent to 4 percent set by the government.
Diokno said during the Third Quarter Inflation Report briefing held online that inflation in the third quarter settled at 2.5 percent, below the midpoint of the target range.
“We have ample policy room due to the benign inflation environment,” Diokno said, adding any tweak in the policy stance in the future would remain “data dependent.”
The manageable inflation environment was one of the reasons for the BSP’s reduction of the policy rate by a total of 175 basis points this year to a record-low 2.25 percent.
The BSP also cut the reserve requirement ratios of banks by 200 basis points to 12 percent in previous Monetary Board meetings.
“These measures helped restore calm in the financial markets,” Diokno said.
