The Philippine central bank decided on Feb 16, 2001 to keep its benchmark overnight interest rates unchanged, saying it preferred to monitor U.S. Federal Reserve moves on rates in the next couple of weeks before acting. The key rates were last reduced by the central bank's key policy-making Monetary Board by 50 basis points on Feb 12. The overnight borrowing rate now stands at 11.0 percent and the lending rate at 13.25 percent.

The bank has cut its key rates by 400 basis points since December