Rates 'appropriate', says Philippine bank

The Philippines central bank said Friday its interest rate policy was "appropriate" after data showed inflation eased slightly in January. The 4.3 percent rise in prices was just below the 4.4 percent seen in December and lower than the bank's forecast of 4.5-5.4 percent, a central bank statement said.
"On this basis, the (bank) believes that current monetary policy settings remain appropriate, supportive of the need to safeguard price stability and at the same time foster sustained economic growth," central bank deputy governor Armando Suratos said. The economic planning ministry earlier said it hoped the bank would keep interest rates unchanged in order to attain Manila's gross domestic product growth target of 2.6-3.6 percent this year.
The economy grew at an 11-year low pace of 0.9 percent last year amid the global crisis and destructive typhoons. The central bank's monetary board last week kept both its overnight borrowing rate and overnight lending rate unchanged at 4.0 percent and 6.0 percent respectively.