The Philippine peso weakened to the 55:$1 level, closing at 55.19 to a dollar on Aug. 2 after 15 trading days below the threshold. The local currency lost 42 centavos to the US dollar, from 54.77:$1 on Aug. 1. The peso traded at as strong as 54:84:$1 and as weak as 55:20:$1. Wednesday’s closing rate was the weakest for the peso since July 11, when it hit 55.19 against the greenback.
According to Michael Ricafort, chief economist at the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., the exchange rate was still stronger than the “immediate high” of 56.44:$1 posted on May 30, 2023, but already weaker than the 54.30 posted on July 17, which is considered as the near-term low. Ricafort said the peso’s depreciation was also partly due to the latest decline or profit-taking in the Philippine and global stock markets, which led to some shift to the US currency.
