This has allowed us to reduce the interest rate on the BSP’s overnight reverse repurchase (RRP) facility by 25 basis points to 4.5 percent in our latest policy meeting held last May 2019. This decision was aimed at helping inflation move towards the middle of the target range and give due consideration to growth, in line with the BSP’s flexible approach to inflation targeting.
In addition, although the country experienced lower-than-expected growth for Q1 2019 at 5.6 percent, growth is expected to pick up in the second half of 2019 with the catch-up government spending plan. Let me emphasize that the country’s economic expansion streak is now 81 quarters, which translates to more than 20 years of uninterrupted growth.