Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said Friday that any move to defend the local currency would depend on how the peso will breach the 60-per-dollar level amid market volatility.
“We do what we’ve always done. We try to avoid sharp movements of the peso,” Remolona told reporters on the sidelines of the 2026 Annual Reception for the banking community.
Remolona said any market intervention by the BSP would be based on the factors that could push the peso past the threshold, adding that the 60-per-dollar level is “not soon” or not yet inevitable.
The peso closed at a record low of 59.46 against the greenback of Jan. 15, but recovered in the succeeding days. It settled at 59.09 on Friday.
Remolona said earlier while there was tremendous pressure to defend the peso, the BSP resisted as the country’s underlying economics do not warrant such action.
Remolona said apart from foreign exchange stability, a fresh rate cut is still not assured under the current easing cycle.
“Even that cut is still a maybe. Not yet sure,” he said, noting that the Monetary Board’s policy decision would depend on the usual factors such as inflation and whether a rate cut could support economic growth.
The BSP cut key interest rates to 4.5 percent during its Dec. 11 policy meeting, amid the weaker-than-expected 4.0 percent gross domestic product growth in the third quarter of 2025.
The Philippine Statistics Authority is scheduled to announce the 2025 fourth-quarter economic performance on Jan. 29, weeks before the Monetary Board’s first policy meeting on Feb. 19.
Inflation rate settled at 1.8 percent in December and averaged 1.7 percent in 2025, below the government’s target range of 2 percent to 4 percent.
Economists expect inflation to remain within the target range in 2026.
