This confirms the strong upward pressure on inflation in the short term, stemming mainly from strong increases in oil and food prices in recent months. Looking ahead, the annual HICP inflation rate is expected to remain significantly above 2% in the coming months and is likely to moderate only gradually in the course of 2008.
The "correct" reaction of the market should have been to lower interest rates, but they were fleeing to cash because of the sense of uncertainty, To ease further upward pressure on interest rates, we purchased a trillion pesos of bonds from the secondary market. In relation to our balance sheet of P4.5 trillion, that's quite big. All along, we had an exit plan.