The peso remains one of the most stable Asian currencies despite headwinds from the domestic and global fronts, especially the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Finance said over the weekend.
In an economic bulletin, the DoF cited the rising risks in the global economy, heightened by the spread of COVID-19, the collapse of global markets, the extreme volatility in currencies and the downgrading of credit ratings of many economies.
“The Philippine peso remained firm, appreciating from year-end 2019 level. In 2020, the Philippine peso was in the middle of the pack among the nine currencies in Asia that maintained their value against the US dollar,” DoF said.
It said the peso in 2020 appreciated 5.18 percent against the US dollar, or in the middle of the pack of nine Asian currencies, including the Taiwan dollar, Chinese yuan, Taiwan dollar, Korean won and Japanese yen, which appreciated 6.33 percent, 6.26 percent, 6.07 percent, and 4.94 percent, respectively.