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Peso retreats against US dollar on COVID-19 concerns
The Philippine peso retreated against the dollar on Thursday, dragged by concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic and consolidation ahead of the policy meeting of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The local currency lost 9.5 centavos to close at P48.315:$1 versus Wednesday's finish of P48.22:$1.
Prior to Thursday's close, the Philippines already recorded a total of 412,097 confirmed cases of COVID-19
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"Rising COVID cases in Asia and the potential for stricter lockdowns, among others. There's also likely some consolidation ahead of the rate decision by the BSP," Security Bank Corp. chief economist Robert Dan Roces said in a mobile message in response to queries on factors that dragged the local currency.
After the foreign exchange market closed, the BSP announced a surprise cut in key policy rates by 25 basis points to take effect Friday, November 20. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/RSJ, GMA News