The peso touched a new intra-day low of 59 against the US dollar Wednesday before closing slightly stronger at 58.98 as concerns over the US Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes dominated the global equities and foreign exchange markets.
Data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed the peso gained a centavo from the previous day’s closing of 58.99 a dollar, which was its record-low against the greenback.
Trading volume also went up to $1.19 billion on Wednesday from $1.06 billion on Tuesday.
Financial expert and economist Jonathan Ravelas predicted in a social media post that peso would likely fall to a range of 60.00 to 61.80 against the dollar this year, before rebounding eventually.
Bank of the Philippine Islands lead economist Emilio Neri Jr. also said a 60-per-dollar exchange rate was “just around the corner.”