Philippines Sees Room for Interest-Rate Cut
TOKYO--The head of the Philippine central bank said he sees room to cut interest rates further as inflation is mild, while expressing concern over falling exports and potentially destabilizing capital inflows.</br></br>His concerns mirror those of other export-oriented economies in Asia, which face weakening demand in Europe and the U.S. as well as inflows of speculative investment driven by easy monetary policy in major economies.</br></br>"Right now if you look at the inflation picture, the forecast is quite benign," Bangko Sentral ng Philipinas Gov. Amando Tetangco said in an interview. "The average for this year is likely going to fall closer to the low end of the inflation target."</br></br>Mr. Tetangco, speaking on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund annual fall meetings in Tokyo, said he sees the same trend for next year.</br></br>Philippine on-year consumer-price inflation slowed to 3.6% in September from 3.8% in August. The central bank's full-year target is between 3% and 5%.