RP sticks to GDP targets

RP sticks to GDP targets

MANILA: Philippine economic growth targets are still within range
despite rising oil prices sparked by the Middle East crisis,
central bank governor Rafael Buenaventura said Sunday.

The rise of crude oil prices above US$27 to the barrel could
still be absorbed by balancing monetary policy, he told
reporters. The country depends on imported oil for about half its
energy needs.

"It's too premature to revise" the gross domestic product
(GDP) growth target of 4.0-4.5 percent this year, Buenaventura
said.

"Our targets are still achievable. We can still stay with our
economic target."

However, he conceded that Manila's 17 months-old regime of
monetary easing could be a thing of the past as the central bank
moves to nip rising inflation in the bud. -- AFP