Peso opens stronger after hovering at P64 level

MANILA — The peso opened at a stronger P63.88 versus the dollar on Thursday, October 29, after closing at the P64 level the day before.

On Tuesday, the peso closed at a record low of P64.17 against the greenback. It closed at P64.025 on Wednesday.

Prior to the US and Israel attack on Iran at the end of February, the peso was on a winning streak, clawing back to P57.665 on February 27, which was the last trading day of the month.

A weaker peso is expected to make oil purchases even more expensive as the commodity is purchased with dollars. It is also expected to stoke inflation.

The depreciation is also expected to impact the country’s sovereign debt, of which a third is owed to foreign creditors.

Bangko Sentral Governor Eli Remolona has said that the central bank is not trying to arrest the depreciation of the peso, as doing so would impact the country’s foreign exchange reserves. 

The central bank, however, has been known to intervene in the market by selling dollars to temper sharp fluctuations in the exchange rate.