MANILA, Philippines - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) slightly tweaked its inflation forecasts for this year, saying the average increase in prices will be 3.3%.

Its previous forecast for 2009 was for average inflation of 3.28%.

Deputy governor Diwa Guinigundo also told reporters that 2010 average inflation was likely to be 4%, against an earlier forecast of 4.02%.

Earlier, the BSP said inflation was well-contained and that it favored non-monetary measures to address any risks of sharp price increases, signaling it was not in a hurry to hike rates.

"Forward looking indicators show that inflation expectations are well-contained while the relatively firm peso could temper price pressures in the near term," the central bank said earlier in a statement.

Guinigundo, however, said that authorities were thinking carefully about an exit strategy.

He gave no details.