Peso continues to slide as Libya shutdown disrupts oil supply

The Philippine peso continued to depreciate against the US dollar on Monday, following the shutdown in Libya which pushed global oil prices upward.

The local currency lost 8.4 centavos to close at P50.975:$1 from last Friday's finish of P50.891:$1.

"The peso closed weaker today... after global oil prices increased to one-week highs amid some disruption in oil supply/exports in Libya and in Iraq," Michael Ricafort, chief economist at the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), said in a text message.

Global oil prices jumped as oilfields in southwest Libya began shutting down, as camps close to Khalifa Hafta closed a pipeline and effectively reduced the national output to a fraction of its normal level according to Reuters.

"Peso also weaker amid the latest decline in the local stock market, to among the lowest in 3.5 months and also among eight-month lows, partly due to regulatory uncertainties," said Ricafort.

The PSEi plunged 2.20% on Monday to close at 7,552.60, with shares of Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) down by P3.05 or 7.00% to P40.50 following remarks from Malacanang.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo over the weekend called for a review on the lease of ALI regarding the UP Ayala Technohub.

Moving forward, Ricafort said the market will be monitoring the release of local economic data later this week.

"The biggest lead this week is the latest Philippine GDP data as of 4Q 2019 on January 23, likely a positive catalyst since GDP growth is expected to be higher vs. 6.2% in 3Q 2019," he explained. —LDF, GMA News