Philiphines y Malaysia se unen a la India y suben intereses en su lucha contra la inflacion.
Asia Inflation Fight Spreads on Philippines, Malaysia Rate Moves
By Karl Lester M. Yap and Unni Krishnan - May 5, 2011 12:01 PM ET
Zeti Akhtar Aziz, governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, the first to raise rates in Asia last year, resumed increases after pausing since July as inflation quickened to a 23-month high. Photographer: Goh Seng Chong/Bloomberg
The Philippines and Malaysia joined India and Vietnam in raising interest rates this week as nations in a region that led the global economic recovery intensified their fight against inflation.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas yesterday increased the rate it pays lenders for overnight deposits to 4.5 percent from 4.25 percent in its second move this year, while Bank Negara Malaysia lifted the benchmark overnight policy rate for the first time in 2011, boosting it by a quarter point to 3 percent.
Surging food and oil costs are escalating the danger of inflation in Asia, prompting policy makers to accelerate monetary tightening even at the risk of slowing growth. India on May 3 doubled the magnitude of rate increases and the State Bank of Vietnam raised borrowing costs the following day for the fifth time in 2011.
“The bigger picture is that inflation still remains quite an issue around the region,” said Wellian Wiranto, an economist at HSBC Holdings Plc in Singapore. “Inflation risk still trumps growth risk as you can see from the central bank thinking.”
The yield on the 7 percent Philippine bond due January 2016 increased five basis points, or 0.05 percentage point, to 5.10 percent yesterday, according to Tradition Financial Services. The peso closed 0.2 percent weaker at 42.94 per dollar, before the rate decision.
The ringgit declined 0.5 percent to 2.9915 per dollar in Kuala Lumpur, while the yield on the 3.434 percent bond due August 2014 fell two basis points to 3.26 percent ahead of the monetary policy announcement.
‘Serious Setback’
Asia faces a “serious setback” from surging inflation that threatens to push millions into extreme poverty, the Asian Development Bank said last week.
Inflation in the Philippines accelerated to 4.5 percent in April, a report showed yesterday. The central bank targets average inflation of 3 percent to 5 percent this year and in 2012.
Malaysian central bank Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, the first to raise rates in Asia last year, resumed increases after pausing since July as inflation quickened to a 23-month high. Zeti also boosted the statutory reserve requirement level to 3 percent from 2 percent effective May 16.
Malaysia’s inflation may accelerate to a range of 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent this year from 1.7 percent in 2010, according to the central bank.
Price Pressures
“Global commodity and energy prices are projected to remain elevated during the year, with inflation in major trading partners also expected to rise further,” the Malaysian central bank said in a statement yesterday. “There are also some signs that domestic demand factors could exert upward pressure on prices in the second half of the year.”
The Philippine central bank signaled it’s willing to do more to contain price pressures, with Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo saying oil above the central bank’s estimate of $110 per barrel continues to pose risks.
Crude oil prices have surged more than 16 percent this year as unrest in the Middle East and North Africa threatens supplies.
World food prices may rebound after declining in March from a record level, the United Nations said last month.
The People’s Bank of China, which raised rates for a fourth time in six months in April, said May 3 controlling price increases was its main goal, even after a manufacturing survey indicated that economic expansion may slow.
India’s Move
India’s central bank increased its repurchase rate by half a percentage point to 7.25 percent this week after eight quarter-point moves since mid-March 2010, as it forecast inflation to stay at an “elevated level” until September.
Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said the Reserve Bank of India aims to curb consumer demand, and cut the central bank’s growth forecast to “around 8 percent” for the year ending March 31 from 8.6 percent in the previous 12 months.
Vietnam raised its repurchase rate to 14 percent, doubling the benchmark from November.
In the Philippines, Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC), the nation’s largest restaurant operator, said profit growth in the first half of 2011 may slow as raw-material prices and operating costs rise.
Malaysia’s economy may expand 5 percent to 6 percent this year, easing from a decade-high of 7.2 percent in 2010, according to the central bank.
The decision to further raise the statutory reserve requirement is a “pre-emptive” measure to manage a “significant” build-up of liquidity, the central bank said.
“Sustained strong foreign capital inflows warrant careful attention to ensure that they do not exacerbate domestic liquidity levels and fan inflationary pressures in the future,” Phillippine central bank Governor Amando Tetangco said. “The Monetary Board remains prepared to take appropriate action as necessary.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Karl Lester M. Yap in Manila at
kyap5@bloomberg.net; Max Estayo in Manila at
mestayo@bloomberg.net