Asian central banks switch to easing as trade war drags on

Philippines follows Malaysia and New Zealand on rate cuts

20190509N Philippine central bank Reuters

The central bank of the Philippines, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, cut its benchmark rate for the first time in nearly seven years on Thursday. © Reuters

JUN ENDO and TAKESHI KIHARA, Nikkei staff writers

May 10, 2019 05:04 JST

MANILA/HONG KONG -- Central banks in the Asia-Pacific region are lowering interest rates to offer monetary stimulus as the U.S.-China trade war deepens economic uncertainty, with the Philippines becoming the latest nation to switch to easing mode.

The central bank of the Philippines, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, trimmed 25 basis points from its benchmark during a policy meeting Thursday, with the new rate of 4.5% set to take effect on Friday.