BSP estimates economy to grow 6%-7% in 2013

The economy could grow between six and seven percent this year, the head of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said over the weekend.

“We believe that the potential growth rate of the Philippine economy is up,” Bangko Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in an interview with reporters.

He added that “there is a reduced risk of inflation [now] that the economic growth is higher.”

Last week, Tetangco noted that the central bank “forecasts inflation in May to settle within the range of 2.2 to 3.1 percent.”

Inflation last April hit 2.6 percent, a 13-month low.

Tetangco said that an improvement in employment numbers and an increase in investments are helping sustain the country's economic growth.

“These two factors are contributing to the higher potential growth of the economy,” he said.

They will also be discussed at the meeting of the BSP's Monetary Board later this month, as well as the economy's higher-than-expected 7.8-percent growth in the first quarter, “to get the overall picture of the environment,” Tetangco said.

“This serves as the basis whether we should change our monetary policy stance or keep it unchanged,” he added. — BM, GMA News