'In the Philippines, inflation, though receding, is still running close to the upper bound of the official target range of 2-4 percent,' ANZ Research said in a report on Tuesday.The same situation applies to Indonesia, it noted, thus rate cuts 'are not on the table this year' for both countries.Domestic inflation has been on the rise for the last four months, hitting 3.9 percent in May.The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has warned that the rate could again exceed 4.
BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. has raised the prospect of an easing as early as August, given improvements in the inflation outlook, ahead of the US Federal Reserve that is expected to do so only in September or even in December.This has put pressure on the peso, which has fallen to 19-month lows and continues to trade at the P58:$1 level.BSP officials have said that the peso's fall was in line with regional movements given the dollar's strength.