MANILA - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Thursday kept borrowing rates unchanged, saying the rise in consumer prices was within target.

The policy-making Monetary Board maintained the overnight borrowing rate at 3 percent, unchanged since September 2014. Only 6 out of 17 economists polled by Bloomberg predicted an increase.

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"The Monetary Board's decision is based on its assessment that while recent inflation outturns show an elevated path in 2018, the latest baseline forecasts continue to show inflation remaining within the inflation target in 2018 and moderating further in 2019," the BSP said in a statement

Financial markets expect the Monetary Board to raise rates thrice this year, BDO Unibank chief investment strategist Jonathan Ravelas told ANC's Market Edge with Cathy Yang.

"What is important at this stage is that the three hikes are already being slowly digested by the market," Ravelas said.

The Treasury's acceptance of higher rates in recent bond auctions reflected its acceptance of rising interest rates globally, Ravelas said.

"What you will see here is a portfolio re-balancing," he said.

--report from Michelle Ong, ABS-CBN News