Manila, Feb. 5 -- The steady inflation rate will allow the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to further reduce interest rates to boost consumer spending and economic growth, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported on Wednesday that the country's headline inflation remained at 2.9 percent.

Core inflation, which excludes selected volatile food and energy items, also eased to 2.6 percent in January from 2.8 percent in December 2024.

"Magandang balita ito (This is good news). This is a strong indicator of the government's commitment to keeping prices stable and signals that the BSP has more flexibility to further reduce interest rates," Recto said in a statement.

"Lower interest rates mean cheaper ...