ING: The U.S.-Iran agreement fails to prevent the Philippines and Indonesia from tightening policies

The decision makers at the Philippine central bank are not taking oil prices lightly, as they believe the impact of oil price shocks could be more persistent. The Asia-Pacific research director stated: "This suggests that there is reason to maintain a tightening bias, favoring small and consistent moves to preserve policy credibility while limiting volatility." ING pointed out that Bank Indonesia’s decision to raise policy rates was unexpected. However, Bhargava noted that the central bank’s move highlights a clear policy priority of stabilizing the weakened Indonesian rupiah.