Photo courtesy of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Facebook Page MANILA – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is expected to raise its policy rate by 25 basis points or 0.25 percentage point to 6.25 percent on March 23 amid lingering concerns about the health of the global financial system. This will represent a slower tightening that, according to ING Bank, might pave the way for a likely pause of hikes in May. Before the latest policy meeting scheduled on Thursday, the Monetary Board (MB) went for hikes of 0.5 ppt on two previous occasions—February and December 2022. This, in turn, followed a 0.75-ppt hike in November last year. Since starting the tightening cycle last May, the BSP’s key rate has risen by 4 ppt from a pandemic-prompted historic low of 2 percent. Commitment Nicholas Mapa, senior economist at ING Bank, said a smaller rate hike this week will serve as an “insurance” considering that inflation remained well-above the government’s target range at 8.6 percent in … [Read more...] about BSP tipped to raise key rate to 6.25%