The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has earned fresh praise from sovereign credit giant Moody’s Ratings, which expects local inflation to steadily settle back within the government's two to four percent target range between 2027 and 2028.
Business owners have grown increasingly worried about the country’s economic path, with corporate confidence plunging sharply into negative territory this July. According to the latest Business Expectations Survey by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the overall confidence index dropped to -20.3 percent from a neutral standing in June. This sudden shift marks a significant downturn in how local companies view their immediate operations, driven largely by rising global oil prices, escalating tensions in the Middle East, and stubbornly high domestic inflation.
Philippine inflation eased to a five-month low of 6.1 percent in August, offering some relief after prices accelerated sharply earlier this year, but the reading remained elevated enough to underscore the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ decision to raise interest rates last week.
Damage to the agriculture sector from heavy rains and flooding caused by the enhanced southwest monsoon and Tropical Cyclones Luis, Maymay, and Neneng has climbed to P3.62 billion as of September 3, 12 noon, the Department of Agriculture (DA) confirmed. This is up from the P3.39 billion reported just 20 hours earlier on September 2 afternoon.