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