Metro Manila, Philippines – The peso ended the trading week falling below ₱62 per dollar for the first time on Friday, Aug. 28.
It opened at ₱62.05 and further dipped to an intraday low of ₱62.27. It settled at a historic-low of ₱62.265.
The local unit closed at a record-low of ₱61.888 on Thursday, Aug, 27, as the Monetary Board raised the central bank’s target reverse repurchase rate (RRP) by 25 basis points, taking the policy rate to 5 percent. RRP is the rate the central bank pays commercial banks when it borrows money from them or absorbs excess cash from the financial system.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said raising the RRP was meant to anchor inflation and prevent the risk of more second-round effects.
Headline inflation is still forecast to exceed the 4 percent tolerance ceiling for 2026 and 2027, but may eventually settle at around 3 percent by 2028.
“Headline inflation has eased, although oil prices remain volatile. The possible impact of severe El Niño conditions on agricultural prices pose further upside risks to inflation,” the BSP said.
“Potential wage adjustments also warrant close monitoring, including their implications for broader price setting and second-round effects. These underlying price risks require preemptive monetary action,” it added.
The peso’s dismal performance against the dollar tracked regional currencies, mainly triggered by continuing jitters from the Middle East conflict and the resulting surge in oil prices.
Here’s how they closed on Friday based on Bloomberg’s market tracker:
+Japanese yen – ￥159.59 (+0.13 percent)
+Korean won – ₩1,372 (-0.74 percent)
+Indonesian rupiah – Rp17,693 (-0.29 percent)
+New Taiwan dollar – NT$31.6190 (-0.25 percent)
+Indian rupee – ₹95.4662 (0.08 percent)
+Malaysian ringgit – RM4.0262 (-0.16 percent)
+Singaporean dollar – S$1.2707 (-0.05 percent)
+New Zealand dollar – NZ$0.5949 (-0.03 percent)
+Australian dollar – AU$0.7193 (-0.01 percent)
