Push Admin

Photo illustration of US dollar to PH peso exchange in this photo taken on September 30, 2022. Gigie Cruz, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Peso slides back to P58 to dollar level

Arthur Fuentes

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA - The Philippine peso is back in the 58 to the dollar level as the local currency again ended weaker at the close of Friday&#x27;s trading.</p><p>The peso closed at P58.32 against the US dollar, after opening at P57.85 according to the website of the Bankers Association of the Philippines. This was its weakest level in almost two months when it closed at P58.333 on August 1.</p><p>The peso has been weakening since the start of the year when it opened at P55.45, although it briefly clawed back value in September reaching a high of P55.61 on Sept. 19.  </p><p>The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas however said that this was not a case of the peso getting weaker but of the dollar getting stronger, as the value of the greenback rose against other currencies.</p><p>An aggressive 50 basis point Interest <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/9/18/us-fed-makes-aggressive-rate-cut-weeks-before-election-633" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">rate cut by the US Federal Reserve</a> in September however saw the dollar lose some of its strength. But the US dollar has been gaining strength against other currencies in recent weeks, and even rose to its highest level on Tuesday on expectations the US Federal Reserve will slow down interest rate cuts amid positive US economic data.</p><p>A weaker peso makes imports, such as oil products and rice, more expensive. But it is also seen by economists as a boon for exporters whose products become more affordable in the international market. Families of overseas Filipino workers can also expect the value of their remittances to rise.  </p><p>Meanwhile, the Philippine Stock Exchange rose 0.42 percent on Friday and closed at 7,314.23. BPI led the rise with its stock rising 5.04 percent to close at P146 per share.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/W5GkNBwsrgc?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>