THE central bank may add to last month?s interest-rate cut to support the economy as it predicts growth in overseas remittances may stall this year amid the worsening global recession, an official said yesterday.

?The current easing stance remains appropriate,? Bangko Sentral deputy governor Diwa Guinigundo said.

?There are indications that the recession could be longer and deeper, that sooner or later, more economies will be affected? by the worldwide slump.

Guinigundo made the statement even as another official said the economy likely grew within a range of 3.6 to 4.4 percent in the fourth quarter, buoyed by the construction, retail and transport sectors.

That would place the full-year gross domestic product at 4.2 to 4.5 percent in 2008, said Dennis Arroyo, policy and planning director of the National Economic and Development Authority.

That range would be within the government?s growth forecast of 4.1- to 4.8-percent growth, he said.

The World Bank said earlier that the economy may have expanded by only 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter, putting last year?s growth at 4.3 percent.

The National Statistical Coordination Board will release the official growth figures on Jan. 29.

Central banks in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have reduced benchmark interest rates by at least half a percentage point this month to shield their economies from plunging demand for Asian goods and services.

Philippine economic growth probably cooled in the fourth quarter because of a ?broad-based slowdown,? Arroyo said.

Overseas remittances, originally estimated to grow 6 percent to 9 percent last year, may fail to increase in 2009, Guinigundo said.

That would be the worst performance in eight years. Inflation may cool below the central bank?s forecast of 6 percent to 8 percent this year, he said.

?We will continue to monitor developments,? Guinigundo said.

?At this time, commodity prices are still moderating, the inflation outlook is benign and expectations are well anchored.?

Still, the Bangko Sentral, which will hold a rate-setting meeting on Jan. 29, would also be ?mindful that liquidity has to be unwound at some point or risk fanning inflation,? he said.

The government should increase and accelerate spending to help buoy the domestic economy to reduce the reliance on monetary policy, Guinigundo said.

?Should inflation rise again, then there?s a risk of higher rates when economies haven?t reached a critical point of recovery,? he said.

?There could be premature reversal of monetary policy? in the region.

The Philippine central bank would not weaken the peso to support the economy, and would allow ?market forces? to determine the exchange rate, Guinigundo said. Bloomberg with Roderick T. dela Cruz