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VARIOUS
multilateral institutions like the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) are a confusing lot, the Bangko
Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Wednesday.
In
giving monetary-policy advice to member-countries like
the Philippines, they talk of one thing and mean
another, BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said.
In an
e-mail, he told reporters the IMF cited efforts by the
BSP in handling with dexterity the requirements of the
economy to continue growing against a background of
soaring food and oil prices this year.
Then in
Jeju, South Korea, over the weekend, IMF deputy managing
director Takatoshi Kato said the Philippines, Indonesia
and Vietnam “appear to have fallen behind the curve in
terms of their interest-rate policy.”
The BSP
recently raised its policy rates by 25 basis points for
both borrowing and lending to 5 percent and 7.5 percent,
respectively.
An
interest-rate hike mutes the impact of rising prices but
must be carefully calibrated so as not to stunt economic
growth, economists say.
The
policy rate hike the BSP adopted last week—the first
since October 2005—was designed to prevent supply-side
restraints from spilling over into the demand side and
push transport fares and worker wages any higher than
already are. It is not a result of monetary-policy
adjustments.
The
decision highlighted the policy dilemma central banks
everywhere are familiar with—that of choosing between
growth and the stability of prices.
“From a
monetary-policy standpoint, my message to international
organizations, if they want to be helpful, they have to
be consistent with the assessment they provide to
member- countries,” Tetangco said.
In South
Korea, Kato commented on Philippine inflation during the
Asia-Europe Finance Ministers’ meeting. Previous
comments hailed Manila’s monetary policy settings as
appropriate.
Tetangco,
who heads the seven-man monetary board, introduced a
rate cut in January.
Unlike
last week’s rate hikes meant to address unwarranted
price increases, the policy rate cuts in January were
meant to optimize the country’s economic growth
potential—seen ranging from 5.7 percent up to 6.6
percent. |
