Peso sinks to lowest in nearly two months vs. dollar

The peso sank to its lowest in nearly two months Thursday as investors turned to the safe-haven dollar amid growing tensions in Ukraine.

 

The local currency lost 37 centavos to 44.08:$1 from 43.71 Wednesday. This was the peso's weakest since it closed P44.12 on June 18.

 

"It's basically on dollar strength as there was a broad sell-off on risk currencies as Russia builds up troops near the Ukraine border," Bank of the Philippine Islands economist Nicholas Mapa said.

 

Russia has been holding military exercises near the Ukraine border, which dampened risk sentiment in global financial markets. 

 

Most emerging Asian currencies slid on Thursday as growing tensions over Ukraine and a surprisingly weak jobs data from Australia hurt the risk-on sentiment, Reuters reported.

 

The World Bank also cut its growth forecast for the Philippines, putting pressure on the peso, a trader at a local bank said.

 

In the latest Philippine Economic Update released on Thursday, the World Bank said the country is expected to grow by 6.4 percent this year and 6.7 percent next year. 

 

This compares with its earlier forecast of 6.6 percent and 6.9 percent in 2014 and 2015, respectively. – VS, GMA News