The value of the peso has continued to slide over the past four days. This Tuesday, it recorded another all-time low in the face of the strength of the American dollar.
In trading this Tuesday, the peso lost 0.1 cents to end up at P57:$1 exchange rate, lower than Monday’s P56.999:$1.
“Still on USD strengthening on Fed hike signals, plus import season is starting so more demand for USDs locally,” according to Security Bank chief economist Robert Dan Roces in a mobile message.
The arrival of remittances from Filipinos abroad this holiday season is expected to help the peso to breathe against the dollar.
“Peak remittance season is coming up, so it may help cap the weakening,” said Roces. “However, this still depends on how strong the USD will get given the Fed’s hike pace.”
Meanwhile, former secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol, said the exchange rate of P57 to one dollar is not bad.
In a Facebook post, Piñol said that the peso’s devaluation against the dollar would be good for overseas Filipino workers (OFW).
“P57 To $1 Is Not Entirely Bad. It’s Good For Our OFWs & Local Food Producers. This Crisis Could Open Opportunities,” said Piñol.
Philippine peso weakens; exchange rate now at P57:$1
It can be recalled that the downtrend of the peso continued for the fourth consecutive trading day on September 6, hitting an all-time low value of P57.00 against one dollar amid strong demand.
For Piñol, it is necessary to explore opportunities to curb or fight the bad effects of the current crisis.
“We are facing a crisis. That’s a given and undeniable fact. So how do we handle it? rant? furrow? despair? We will lose if we have that mindset,” commented the former secretary.
He said, “We have to explore opportunities to cushion or counter the adverse effect. Boosting local production and exports while lessening our dependence on importation are our options and opportunities. That’s crisis management.”
Meanwhile, the inflation rate in the Philippines eased to 6.3 percent in August 2022, after five consecutive months of acceleration. With this month’s inflation, the Philippine’s average inflation from January to August 2022 stood at 4.9 percent. In August 2021, inflation rate was posted at 4.4 percent.
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