BSP replacing its quarterly inflation report

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced on Tuesday that it is launching a new quarterly report on monetary policy to replace the current inflation report.

In a statement, the BSP said it will begin publishing its first Monetary Policy Report (MPR) on February 18. The MPR will replace the quarterly publication of the Inflation Report. It will also be published four times a year to correspond with the availability of major economic data releases such as the quarterly national income accounts.

“A greater part of the report will be devoted to the forward-looking discussions on inflation and the key macroeconomic variables that affect inflation, as well as the risks and uncertainty surrounding the BSP’S inflation forecasts.” –bsp

The BSP said the MPR will serve as its flagship publication on monetary policy to provide the public a detailed view of the BSP’S forecasts as well as the guidance on the likely direction of monetary policy over the next two years.

The shift to the MPR is also an alignment to other central banks that publish monetary policy reports following the announcement of monetary policy decisions, the BSP said.

“A greater part of the report will be devoted to the forwardlooking discussions on inflation and the key macroeconomic variables that affect inflation, as well as the risks and uncertainty surrounding the BSP’S inflation forecasts,” the BSP said.

“To this end, the structure and contents of the MPR will reflect the emphasis on the BSP’S views and outlook for inflation and growth and, when necessary, provide forward guidance,” it added.

A briefing for market analysts and the press on the key highlights of the MPR will be held after the announcement of the monetary policy decision for Monetary Board policy meetings in February, May, August and November.

The MPR will, then, be available to the public the following day.

“The shift to the MPR further strengthens the BSP’S commitment towards greater transparency under the Inflation Targeting framework. The increased disclosure and communication by the BSP of its policy decisions should further help to anchor inflation expectations going forward,” the BSP said.