The peso fell to a one-month low against the US dollar Tuesday as investors preferred the greenback on expectations of another interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
The peso breached the 50-a-dollar level before closing at 49.99, or four centavos weaker than 49.95 on April 27.
The peso opened at 50.10 and at one point touched 50.11 a dollar. The last time the peso settled beyond the 50-level was on April 7, 2017 when it closed at 50.08.
East West Bank president and chief executive Antonio Moncupa Jr. said it appeared the peso “is affected by the prospects of expected more robust US growth as the final outcome of the Trump tax cut proposal, on balance, is seen to lead to higher corporate profits and more investments in the US.”
“The effect is stronger currencies for countries with current account surplus and weaker for those currencies which do not have substantial current account surpluses,” Moncupa said in a statement.