THE PESO succumbed to the greenback and reached its weakest in 21 months amid concerns over higher coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections in the country.
The peso closed at P51 per dollar on Wednesday, shedding 54 centavos from its P50.46 close on Tuesday, based on data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines.
The peso’s Wednesday close matched its P51 per dollar finish on Sept. 30, and is the weakest since it closed at P51.07 on March 26, 2020, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.
The peso opened the session weaker at P50.55 per dollar on Wednesday. Its worst showing was at its close of P51, while its intraday best was at P50.55.
Dollars exchanged increased to $1.342 billion on Wednesday from $994.8 million on Tuesday.
A trader in an e-mail attributed the peso’s weakness to “growing market caution over the increasing trend of local new COVID-19 cases”.
COVID-19 cases in the country increased by 889 to 10,418 on Wednesday, based on data from the Department of Health.
The positivity rate also rose to 4.5%. This was below 1% in the weeks prior to the holidays.
The country has already detected four cases of the more transmissible Omicron variant.
For his part, Mr. Ricafort said the local unit likely weakened as conversion of seasonal cash remittances from overseas Filipino workers for the holidays have likely already peaked.
Mr. Ricafort expects the peso to move within P50.70 to P51 per dollar, while the trader gave a forecast range of P50.90 to P51.121. — Luz Wendy T. Noble