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Economy

Philippines cuts key rate to shield economy from coronavirus

Viral outbreak prompts 'preemptive' measure, despite healthy economy

Despite economic headwinds, Manila is cautiously optimistic about meeting this year's growth target.   © Reuters

MANILA -- The Philippine central bank cut the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points on Thursday to help shield the economy from the effects of the coronavirus outbreak and a recent volcano eruption.

At its first meeting of the year, the bank lowered the key rate to 3.75% in line with market expectations. The resumption of easing came after the government reported on Wednesday that January inflation rose to 2.9%, although the figure was still within the targeted 2% to 4% range.

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