THE peso continued to weaken on Thursday, hitting a third record low for the year amid a strong dollar and concerns over economic growth and interest rates.
The currency weakened by two centavos to P59.46 to the greenback, slipping from Wednesday’s previous record low of P59.44:$1 that had surpassed the P59.355:$1 posted on Jan. 7.
It opened at P59.43 and traded between P59.35 and P59.47. Volume rose to $1.079 billion from $951 million previously.
Philippine Institute for Development Studies Senior Fellow John Paolo Rivera said the continued weakness reflected a mix of global and domestic factors.
“USD (the dollar) has stayed strong as markets price in higher-for-longer US interest rates and safe-haven demand,” he said.
“Domestically, slower economic growth, delayed public spending, and soft investor confidence have kept foreign inflows muted, making it harder for the peso to strengthen.”
In the near term, Rivera said the peso may continue to trade in P58 to P60 range, with movements driven by global dollar trends and key data such as inflation, remittances and exports.
A more lasting recovery, he added, will require stronger external demand, better investor confidence and clearer policies that attract foreign capital and boost foreign exchange inflows.
“If those materialize, the PHP (Philippine peso) can stabilize and modestly recover later in 2026,” Rivera said.
A trader said the peso continued to weaken after producer inflation and retail sales data showed that the US economy remained resilient, strengthening expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged in the coming months.
“The local currency might continue to depreciate as statements from several Fed officials could solidify views of a more cautious rate-cutting pace of the US central bank this year,” the trader said.
Exchange rates are expected to move between P59.25 and P59.50 in the coming days.
PSEi rebounds
The Philippine Stock Exchange index, meanwhile, rebounded on Thursday by gaining 97.72 points, or 1.53 percent, to 6,487.53 on renewed bargain hunting.
Japhet Tantiangco, research manager at Philstocks Financial Inc., said buying was supported by expectations that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) could deliver another rate cut next month, alongside optimism that the domestic economy would eventually return to a faster growth pace.
Foreign investors were net buyers for the day, posting net inflows of P1.31 billion that helped fuel the recovery.
Trading activity improved, with value turnover reaching P6.98 billion — above the year-to-date average of P6.15 billion.
Sectoral performance was mostly positive with only the mining sector declining, down 1.02 percent. Services led the gains, climbing 2.02 percent.
Market breadth was favorable as advancers outnumbered decliners, 115 to 96.
Among index stocks, DigiPlus Interactive Corp. led the gainers, jumping 4.59 percent to P16.40, while profit-taking pulled JG Summit Holdings Inc. down 1.34 percent to P25.85, making it the worst performer for the session.
