Philippines rates unchanged, inflation forecasts raised

The Philippine central bank left its key policy rate unchanged on Wednesday, as widely forecast, but expectations of a rate rise in the first half of 2011 firmed as it raised inflation forecasts for coming years. There were inflationary pressures from global oil and food prices as well as hikes in domestic road tolls, and momentum in demand growth could further add to the build-up, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said at its six-weekly policy review.