MANILA, Nov 6 (Philippines Daily Inquirer/ANN): President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will attend the Asean-EU (European Union) Summit in Brussels, Belgium, in December, where regional leaders are expected to discuss a free trade deal with the EU, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Before his trip to Belgium, the President will participate in the Association of Southeast Nations (Asean) Summit in Cambodia and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Thailand, Foreign Assistant Secretary Daniel Espiritu told a press briefing in Malacañang on Friday.
In July this year, the EU, through a letter from European Council President Charles Michel, invited Marcos to visit its headquarters in Belgium to discuss bilateral relations and wider foreign policy issues.
The Philippines' inflation accelerated to its fastest pace in nearly 14 years in October and the rate is likely to rise further, the statistics agency said on Friday, backing expectations the central bank will keep tightening monetary policy.
The consumer price index climbed 7.7% in October from a year earlier, the fastest rise since December 2008, driven by price gains in key commodity groups, particularly food and non-alcoholic beverages. It outpaced the 7.1% median forecast in a Reuters poll.
The headline figure also came in near the top end of the central bank's 7.1% to 7.9% forecast for the month.
Inflation in January-October averaged 5.4%, well outside the central bank's full-year target range of 2% to 4%.
Indicating broadening price pressures, core inflation - which strips out volatile food and fuel - hit 5.9% in October from an upwardly revised 5.0% in September, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.
The statistics agency sees a "substantial probability" that inflation could increase further in November, partly because of the impact of a recent destructive tropical storm.
Reacting to the data, the economic planning agency said the government was committed to providing immediate relief to cushion the impact of rising inflation.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe Medalla said on Thursday the central bank will hike its key interest rates by 75 basis points at its Nov. 17 policy meeting to match the latest monetary tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The BSP intended to maintain the interest rate differential prevailing before the most recent Fed rate hike, in order to temper any impact on the country's exchange rate, he said.
The peso, South-East Asia's worst-performing currency, has lost more than 13% against the U.S. dollar so far this year.
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