By Tiziana Celine Piatos, Manila Times
September 15, 2022
THE Philippine peso on Wednesday slightly depreciated against the United States dollar at P57.11 in the Philippine Dealing System, but recorded an intraday low of P57.27.
According to the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP), the peso trading opened at P57.1 against the dollar.
BAP data showed the peso traded from P57.1 to P56.27, averaging P57.202.
The peso exchange was weaker against the US dollar by 34 centavos, or 0.6 percent, to close at 57.11, the highest since Sept. 8, 2022, when it closed at P57.18.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., told The Manila Times that the current peso exchange rate could lead to more aggressive local policy rate hikes by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
However, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said on Wednesday during the Development Budget Coordination Committee Briefing to the Senate of the Philippines on the Fiscal Year 2023 Proposed Budget that the impact of the Philippine peso depreciation against the US dollar is "favorable" to the country's budget.
He added that the "net effect of P1 depreciation is a P7.6 [billion] reduction in the country's budget deficit."
Earlier, Ricafort said the peso-dollar exchange rate could "seasonally improve" toward the end of the year after having fallen to record lows.
"The peso is expected to seasonally improve toward the end of the year in view of the seasonal increase in OFW (overseas Filipino worker) remittances and export revenues to be converted to pesos for holiday spending, based on the consistent patterns seen for many years/decades," he added.
However, the peso slightly depreciating on Wednesday also negatively affected investors' sentiment at the Philippine Stock Exchange, along with news from the United States that August inflation hit 8.3 percent or higher than expectations.
