((UPDATE) MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Wednesday authorities would do all they can to ensure the peso does not keep falling against the dollar and urged people "not to panic."
"People can take solace in the fact that our policy towards the peso is to continue to defend the peso as hard as we possibly can," Marcos told reporters.
Marcos said the government has "all the means to defend" the currency, which hit a record low of 64.17 to the dollar on Tuesday
There was no reason to panic over its weakness, he said
"Our foreign exchange reserves are healthy. And that’s what we draw on to defend the peso," he added.
Philippine foreign reserves fell to $99.5 billion in September, the lowest level since September 2023
The peso has lost more than 8 percent against the dollar so far this year.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) last week said it intervened in the foreign exchange market to smooth out sharp fluctuations
The central bank raised its key policy rate by a larger-than-expected 50 basis points last week to combat inflation, which it said could be fueled by a weaker peso through higher imports.
Marcos, who had met central bank officials on Tuesday, said monetary measures could only do so much to control inflation, adding "we have to do others."
