The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will likely keep policy rates unchanged at its next meeting as headline inflation is expected to remain elevated.

BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said on Monday “there’s still a leeway” to maintain policy rates at 6.5 percent.

“We’re still hawkish. Mataas pa inflation eh (Inflation is still high). We’ll see tomorrow. But one number won’t make a big difference. We need to look at a few months,” Remolona said at the sidelines of the Government-Owned- or Controlled Corporations (GOCC) Day held at the Philippine International Convention Center.

April 2024 headline inflation data will be released by the Philippine Statistics Authority on Tuesday.

The BSP, however, earlier projected headline inflation to settle within the range of 3.5 to 4.3 percent in April.

In March, inflation settled at 3.7 percent.

“Parang ang galaw ngayon ng inflation eh naglalaro sa bandang 3.9, ganon. So parang alanganin eh, di ba? Sana bandang 3. Yung 3.9, madaling maging 4.1, ganon. Parang alanganin pa eh. So hawkish pa rin. (Inflation is hovering at around 3.9. So it’s still risky. I hope it’s around 3. The 3.9 can easily become 4.1. So we’re still hawkish),” said Remolona.

The BSP’s Monetary Board (MB) kept policy rates unchanged during its last meeting on April 8. The MB is scheduled to hold another meeting on May 16.

Remolona said the BSP might cut policy rates if inflation settles comfortably at the 3-percent level for months.

“Sa ngayon, kung mag-ease kami, 25 [basis points] lang. Pero, we’ll see. (If we’ll ease, it’s just 25 [basis points]. But we’ll see,” Remolona said. (PNA)