THE dovish stance of the Philippine central bank boosted the local bond market during the third quarter of the year, the Asian Development Bank reported on Wednesday.According to the November issue of the Asian Bond Monitor, the growth of the Philippine bond market accelerated by 3.8 percent in the third quarter of this year from 1.9 percent in the previous quarter on the back of robust expansion in all bond segments.Total local currency bonds outstanding reached P13.
The BSP is expected to implement another 25-bps cut during its Monetary Board December meeting to support the country's economic growth that moderated to 5.2 percent in the third quarter.Most analysts, however, are expecting the central bank to be cautious on easing due to peso volatility, as it has been trading between P58 and P59 per US dollar in the past week.Meanwhile, the ADB reported that bond issuance in the country rose by 11.0 percent to P2.