MANILA, Philippines – The peso exchange rate stands at P43.08 to the US dollar, the closing rate last Friday at the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx). The weighted average rate stands at P43.10.

B.S.P. EYES MORE RATE INCREASES IF NECESSARY

HANOI – Continued price pressures risk pushing Philippine inflation uncomfortably high, but "preemptive and appropriate" action can keep prices in check, a senior central bank official said Friday, a day after raising interest rates.

"We're seeing some potential pressures still coming in, and this could put the inflation target at risk, absent policy action," said Cyd Tuano-Amador, assistant governor for monetary policy at Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

The central bank has its sights firmly on its 3%-5% inflation target, she told Dow Jones Newswires. (Dow Jones)

P.N.B. GETS NOD ON P10-B TIER 2 NOTES

Philippine National Bank (PNB) said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas had approved its plan to sell unsecured subordinated debt to raise up to P10 billion ($232 million) in Tier 2 capital. The peso-denominated debt will have a 10-year maturity, the lender told the stock exchange. Timing and other details of the offer were not disclosed.

In November, PNB said it was looking to sell 10-year debt in one or more tranches with a call option after five and a half years.

N.S.O. RELEASES FINAL 2010 TRADE DATA

The National Statistics Office (NSO) said Friday that final trade data for 2010 showed higher export and import figures plus a wider trade deficit than initially estimated.

According to the statistics office, the final export figure for 2010 was $51.498 billion compared with a preliminary estimate of $51.432 billion; the value of imports was $54.933 billion rather than $54.721 billion.

As such, the balance of trade for last year showed a wider deficit of $3.435 billion compared with an initial estimate of $3.289 billion.

Final data for 2009 showed exports at $38.426 billion, imports at $43.092 billion, and a trade deficit of $4.656 billion.

INDUSTRY'S REVENUE INDEX UP 12%

Total gross revenue index of industries went up by 12.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, from a level of 8.0 percent growth in the previous year.

Real Estate registered the highest growth at 24.1 percent due to increased revenues from real estate projects, renting and leasing operations.

This was followed by trade, which grew by 13.9 percent and finance, up by 12.7 percent. (EHL)