MANILA -- Future monetary policy actions will target inflation and not rely on the U.S. Federal Reserve for direction, Philippine central bank Gov. Nestor Espenilla told the Nikkei Asian Review on Monday. The governor defended its policy decision, with some market participants expecting the bank to follow the Fed's rate hike.
In an interview, Espenilla also defended the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' move on March 22 to keep its overnight lending rates unchanged at 3%. That same day, the Fed hiked its federal funds rate by 25 basis points, the first of at least three expected rate hikes in 2018.
