BusinessWorld
May 6, 2021 | 12:07 am
BW FILE PHOTO
YIELDS on the central bankâs term deposits slipped on Wednesday following steady April inflation data and as the peso strengthened in the past days.
Demand for the term deposit facility (TDF) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) hit P583.062 billion on Wednesday, higher than the P510 billion on the auction block as well as the P546.571 billion in tenders logged a week earlier.
Broken down, tenders for the one-week term deposits amounted to P157.385 billion on Wednesday, surpassing the P150-billion offer but failing to beat the P174.267 billion in bids seen during the previous offering.
BusinessWorld
May 6, 2021 | 12:34 am
The consumer price index rose 4.5% year on year in April. PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS
INFLATION remained stable in April, while core inflation eased to a five-month low, leading economists to expect the central bank to keep rates on hold at next week’s policy-setting meeting.
Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority released on Wednesday showed the consumer price index rose by 4.5% year on year last month, unchanged from March but faster than 2.2% in April 2020. This as price increases for food staples such as rice and vegetables slowed, helping offset a spike in transportation costs caused by higher oil prices.
The country’s e-payment transactions surged by 129 percent to P5.5 trillion in just three months or as of end-March this year from P2.4 trillion at the close of 2020, according to Philippine Payments Management Inc. (PMMI) chairman Justo A. Ortiz.
“The running rate from first quarter 2021 data is
Govât debt stock hits P10.77 trillion as of end-March
May 4, 2021 | 12:34 am
BW FILE PHOTO
THE National Governmentâs outstanding debt reached P10.774 trillion as of end-March, after the sale of retail Treasury bonds (RTB), the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) reported on Monday.
The BTr said the countryâs debt stock went up 3.5% from the P10.405-trillion level recorded in February, and rose 27% from P8.477 trillion seen in the period ending March 2020. Since the year started, the debt pile grew by 10% from P9.795 trillion.
The total comprised 72% of local debt and 28% in foreign borrowings.
The increase in outstanding debt was attributed to the 5.2% month-on-month growth in domestic debt to P7.745 trillion, after the BTr raised P411.8 billion in fresh funds from the sale of three-year RTBs on March 4.