THE peso declined to a one-month low against the greenback on Friday, dragged down by both domestic and global developments.
The local currency lost P0.27 to close at 47.16 from 46.89 to a dollar Thursday. It was the peso’s weakest level since the 47.02 on Aug. 4, 2016. Total volume traded reached $711.6 million, higher than $677.3 million Thursday
“Foreign players are getting out of the domestic market. Investors are getting skeptical and uncertain on what will happen next after the declaration of state of lawless violence by the President,” Nicholas Antonio Mapa, research officer of the Bank of the Philippine Islands, said in a phone interview.
“Also, they are not sure on its impact, if it is going to impair economic growth in the country,” Mapa said.
He added contributing to the weakness of the peso was the biggest nuke test in North Korea conducted Friday.
The peso’s weakest level this year was recorded on Jan. 26 at 47.995. It returned to the 46-a-dollar level on March 4 at 46.945.
Economists from the First Metro Investment Corp. and University of Asia and the Pacific earlier projected that the peso might trade between 48 and 49 versus the greenback this year, taking into consideration the volatility in the global financial markets.
In July this year, the inter-agency Development Budget Coordination Committee maintained a foreign exchange target of 45 to 48 per US dollar from 2016 to 2018.