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| The peso dropped to its lowest level against the US$ last Tuesday |
The Philippine peso closed at Php58.79 against the US dollar today, Nov. 3, after rallying earlier in the day to around Php57. (In Hong Kong dollar terms, this means a current exchange rate of Php7.57 to HK$1).
This was the fifth day of ups and downs for the Philippine currency, after it posted an intraday record drop to P59.26 on Tuesday.
The all-time low set off alarm bells as the Php59 level is seen by traders as an indication that the Philippine currency is fast losing its shine, and often prompts the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to step in to avert a possible freefall.
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| TAWAG NA! |
While BSP officials did not confirm direct
intervention, Governor Eli Remolona said that “excessive movements” of the
peso will be managed to reflect fundamentals.
Tuesday's record fall was not the first time that the national
currency had dipped significantly. Records show it has managed to bounce repeatedly
from around this threshold since 2022, though it never breached the Php59 level.
In any case, the peso bounced back to Php58.69
by the day’s end, and continued to hover above the P58 level until today.
With December just around the corner, traders expect that the peso will be bolstered by the traditional Christmas season peak for overseas remittances, which normally rises by 20 to 25% above monthly averages.
It could even be more this
time, as overseas Filipinos who earn in dollars could be encouraged to increase
their usual remittances during the season.
Data show that the peso
remains one of Asia’s weakest performing currencies this year. It has lost more
than 2% of its value since July, when President Ferdinand E. Marcos revealed during
his State of the Nation address that many of the government’s flood control projects
were turned into money-making schemes.
In contrast, the
Taiwan dollar gained 6.8% over the greenback, 6.6 percent for the Malaysian
ringgit, and five percent for the Thai baht.
