Peso opens strong, claws back to P63:$1

The Philippine peso gained its ground against the US dollar, clawing its way back to the P63-to-one dollar level during the opening of trading on Thursday.

The local currency opened at P63.88:$1, from Wednesday’s close of P64.025:$1.

The peso has been hovering at the P64:$1 level for two straight days, even reaching a new historic low of P64.17:$1 on Tuesday.

Read: With PH peso plunging to record lows, should Filipinos panic?

The local unit’s weakness came amid the continuous spike in global crude oil prices due to the Middle East crisis.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. previously allayed concerns as the Philippine peso hit a new historic low.

“Well, first of all, do not take it with alarm. Don't panic,” Marcos said in an ambush interview at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City for the observance of the 32nd National Correctional Consciousness Week.

The President said that his government is trying to defend the peso “as hard as we possibly can.”

“People can take solace in the fact that our policy towards the peso is to continue to defend the peso as hard as we possibly can. We have all the tools to defend the peso. We have all the means to defend the peso,” Marcos said.

Economists explained that the peso could be beneficial for dollar-earners such as OFW (overseas Filipino worker) families, exporters, BPOs, and tourism-related businesses because but could raise import cause which could eventually trickle down to higher inflation as the country is heavily import dependent. —VAL, GMA News