Peso weakens to new historic low of P59.50 vs dollar amid Mideast conflict

MANILA, March 10 ------ The Philippine peso weakened to a new historic low versus the US dollar amid global uncertainties stemming from the conflict in the Middle East.

According to the website of the Bankers Association of the Philippines, the peso closed at P59.50 to $1 at the end of Monday’s trading. The peso even weakened to as low as P59.71 during intraday trading. This was lower than the previous record, which was P59.46 on Jan. 15 this year. Prior to the attack of the US and Israel against Iran at the end of February, the peso was on a winning streak, clawing back to P57.51 on Feb. 25.

A weaker peso is expected to make oil purchases even more expensive as the commodity is purchased with dollars. The depreciation is also expected to impact the country’s sovereign debt, of which a third is owed to foreign creditors. BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, earlier said that it expected the peso to depreciate to P59.50 by the end of 2026. But this forecast was made before the outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr earlier said this year that he does not want the peso to breach the 60-to-the-dollar level. Meanwhile, Philippine stocks also saw a bloodbath with the PSE index shedding 4.97 percent in value at the end of Monday's trading.

All sub-indices also ended sharply in the red, with the property sector losing 5.12 percent, and holding firms falling 5.94 percent. Some of the biggest losers were index heavyweights such as BPI, SM Investments Corp, Ayala Corp, and SM Prime Holdings.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com