Peso Weakens but Holds P60:$1 Level Amid Economic Data Anticipation

The Philippine peso depreciated against the US dollar on Thursday, albeit still within the P60-to-one dollar level, amid anticipation of a softer second quarter economic performance. The local currency shed 10 centavos to close at P60.815:$1, from P60.751:$1 on Wednesday. Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort, in a commentary, said that the weaker peso came “a day before the latest Philippine economic growth data that could still be relatively soft (after 2.8% in first quarter 2026) amid risk of government underspending especially on infrastructure since the latter part of 2025 due to the anomalous flood-control projects.” The Philippine Statistics Authority is scheduled to release the second quarter and first half 2026 gross domestic product (GDP) growth figures on August 7, 2026. The Philippine economy grew at a slower pace in the first quarter of 2026 at 2.8% versus 3% year-on-year, weighed by the dent on consumer and investor sentiment caused by the flood control corruption scandal as well as the inflationary impact of the global fuel price shocks resulting from the Middle East war. Nonetheless, the economist said the peso’s-dollar exchange rate “remained relatively stable after some resistance recently amid possible intervention/volatility smoothening activities at 61.60-61.80 levels/range highs recently.” — BM, GMA News