Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno reiterated his stance against a rate hike, but said he was just expressing his opinion and was only one of seven monetary board members who will vote during Thursday's meeting.While the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas expected inflation to ease below 4% by the fourth quarter, there was no solid consensus for a pause on May 18, with some economists pencilling in a hike before the central bank takes a break from policy tightening.
The BSP has raised rates by a total of 425 basis points since May last year to fight inflation, the full impact of which Diokno said has yet to be absorbed by the economy, considering that monetary policy often works with a long lag.
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