Philippines inflation expected within target range by Q1 2024, says finance minister

NEW YORK : Philippines Finance Minister Benjamin Diokno says he expects inflation to be within target range by the first quarter of next year.

Diokno told the Reuters NEXT conference in New York that inflation was high, but coming down in what he called the fastest-growing economy in the region.

He said it was mostly food items contributing to above target inflation at the moment.

Earlier, the Philippines reported that gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.9 per cent in the September quarter from last year, surpassing the 4.7 per cent forecast in a Reuters poll, helped by a turnaround in government spending offsetting a slowdown in household consumption.

Like many countries, the Philippines has been grappling with soaring inflation that has dampened demand and has forced the central bank to aggressively raise interest rates at the expense of growth.

With inflation still a major challenge, the central bank said on Thursday that policy would have to remain “tighter for longer”, to anchor inflation expectations and reiterated it was ready to continue hiking rates if needed.

(Editing by Leela de Kretser; Editing by Daniel Wallis)