Philippines' May inflation rate heats up to 42-month high of 5.4%

MANILA (Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network): Expectations that the Monetary Board will again raise the policy interest rate when it meets on June 23 are firming up as the inflation rate in May accelerated to a 42-month-high of 5.4 per cent.

This brought the five-month average to 4.1 per cent, breaching the upper end of the government’s 2 to 4 per cent target range. And with inflation expected to further heat up instead of cool down in the remainder of this year, analysts expect as much as a 50-basis point (bp) hike.