This notwithstanding, inflation expectations continue to be within target over the policy horizon. The BSP also continues to watch against financial market volatility emanating from uncertainty in the pace of normalization of U.S. monetary policy as well as geopolitical issues that may have impact on the stability of financial markets, on movement of capital flows, and on continued economic activity.
This was the fastest rate of growth since the end of 2000, with the construction and related sectors accounting for almost half of this increase. This reflects the fact that the construction sector here is large in relation to other euro area countries, accounting for about 12 per cent of employment compared to about 8 per cent for the euro area.