UPDATE 1-Philippines inflation stable in April, but still above c.bank target

* April CPI at +4.5% yr/yr, unchanged from March
* Core CPI eases to 3.3% from 3.5% in March
* Cbank to review policy settings on May 13

(Adds detail, comments from central bank and economist)
By Neil Jerome Morales and Enrico Dela Cruz
MANILA, May 5 (Reuters) - Philippine inflation steadied to
an annual rate of 4.5% in April, as slower price increases for
key food items such as rice and vegetables offset higher energy
costs, data from the statistics agency showed on Wednesday.
April inflation PHCPI=ECI was unchanged from March and
below the median forecast of 4.7% in a Reuters poll and within
the central bank's 4.2%-5.0% projected range for the month.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and fuel
prices, eased to 3.3% in April, after a 3.5% reading in March
PHCPXY=ECI .
Headline inflation averaged 4.5% in the first four months of
the year, above the central bank's 2%-4% target band for the
year.
The Philippine central bank said the data was in line with
its projection that inflation would remain elevated this year,
particularly due to pressures from high pork prices after
African swine fever outbreaks reduced supply.
"The balance of risks to the inflation outlook remains
balanced around the baseline path in 2021, while leaning toward
the downside in 2022," Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
Governor Benjamin Diokno told reporters.
The BSP, which reviews monetary settings every six weeks,
holds its next policy meeting on May 13, two days after the
release of first-quarter gross domestic product data.
Diokno said the BSP's decision will take into account the
latest inflation data, along with information from the
first-quarter GDP report.
"We expect BSP to remain on hold for the whole of 2021 to
provide support to the economy and we believe inflation will
begin to decelerate further in May as supply side issues are
addressed by supply side remedies," said Nicholas Antonio Mapa,
a senior economist at ING.
The government has reduced pork import tariffs and allowed
traders to bring in higher volumes of meat from abroad in a bid
to address the domestic shortage.