SINGAPORE: The Philippine peso plunged to its lowest in nearly 13 years against the US dollar on Tuesday (Sep 25) amid talk of another interest rate hike by the central bank, while US-China trade tensions continue to cloud the global outlook.
The peso fell as low as 54.66 per US dollar on Tuesday, its weakest level since Nov 22, 2005, when it touched 54.99 versus the dollar.
Against the Singapore dollar, the peso fell to an intraday low of 39.87, the lowest since Jun 14, when it touched 39.98.
Ms Gina Macalanda, a foreign domestic worker in Singapore, said that the current situation favours Filipino overseas workers like herself.
"The cost of living has become very high in the Philippines. All the products - especially food - has become very expensive.
"A weakening peso benefits overseas foreign workers because the exchange rate is high and I can get more pesos for every Singapore dollar I change," she said.
POTENTIAL RATE HIKE
The Philippines central bank is expected to raise rates by another 50 basis points on Thursday, in order to curb inflation and shore up the shaky peso currency, a Reuters poll showed.
The central bank has raised interest rates by 100 bps since May, including 50 bps on Aug 9, in a bid to tamp down inflationary pressures, which have been steadily rising since January due to higher taxes, a weak peso, and rising food and fuel costs.
In August, inflation surged to a more than nine-year high of 6.4 per cent, way above the central bank's 2-4 per cent comfort range, prompting policymakers to say they would take "strong immediate action" to manage the pace of price increases.
Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/philippine-peso-plunges-to-near-13-year-low-10757006
Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/philippine-peso-plunges-to-near-13-year-low-10757006