Philippine Central Bank to Hold Rates but May Increase Reserve Requirement

        0653 GMT [Dow Jones] Preview: The Philippine central bank won't raise rates at Thursday's policy meeting despite quicker inflation in April, economists polled by The Wall Street Journal all say. The overnight borrowing rate will stay at 3.5% where it has been since October 2012. Six of 11 economists polled think there will be a 1 percentage point increase in the reserve requirement for commercial banks to curb liquidity. "The BSP did it before--raising bank reserve requirements at successive meetings. Besides, a 35% growth in money supply is a bit on the high side," Metropolitan Bank research head Marc Bautista says. This is the BSP's preferred tool, Credit Suisse economist Michael Wan says but doesn't see another rise Thursday. He predicts a 2-point increase later this year. (cris.larano@dowjones.com)
        (END) Dow Jones Newswires

        May 07, 2014 02:53 ET (06:53 GMT)