Peso Dips Further, Stays Above P60 Amid Weak Q2 GDP Growth

The Philippine peso continued its downtrend for the second straight day on Friday, closing at P60.9:$1, shedding 8.5 centavos from Thursday’s finish of P60.815:$1. The peso was weighed down by the weaker-than-expected economic growth data for the second quarter of 2026. Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort attributed the peso’s further weakening to the softer local GDP (gross domestic product) growth data for the second quarter of 2026, which came in at 2.3%. This growth rate is slower than the 2.8% expansion seen in the first quarter of 2026. The economy, as measured by GDP, experienced its weakest footing since the fourth quarter of 2009—excluding the contraction seen during the COVID-19 pandemic years—when the GDP growth rate was at 1.8%. The 2.3% second-quarter GDP growth puts the Philippines behind its neighbors in Southeast Asia that have already released their April to June economic growth rates, such as Indonesia at 5.29%, Vietnam at 8.39%, and Singapore at 5.7%. The GDP growth rate for the first half of 2026 stood at 2.6%, still behind the government’s downwardly revised target of 3.5% to 4.5% for the entire year. Nevertheless, Ricafort noted that the US dollar/peso exchange rate remained relatively stable after some resistance recently, citing possible intervention or market volatility smoothing at the P61.60-P61.80 levels/range highs. Information Source: GMA Money Philippines