Peso closes at new record low vs. US dollar at P60.3:$1

The Philippine peso retreated against the US dollar to carve out a new all-time low on Monday, as the conflict in the Middle East escalated over the weekend after both Iran and the United States issued threats against one another.

The local currency shed 20 centavos to close at P60.3:$1, its weakest performance to date after surpassing last Thursday’s close of P60.1:$1, the previous record low.

There was no trading on Friday, March 20, 2026, which had been declared a regular holiday in observance of Eid’l Fitr, marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

?“Reflects a strong dollar, higher oil widening the import bill, and risk-off flows,” a trader said in a mobile message.

“The ’60 handle’ looks more like a near-term overshoot than a new anchor — likely to linger while uncertainty is high, but not sticky. A pullback below 60 is still plausible once external pressures ease,” the trader added.

US President Donald Trump over the weekend issued an ultimatum that the US would “obliterate” Iran’s power plants should it fail to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping corridor which carries around a fifth of the world’s oil, within 48 hours.

Iran responded by saying it would take out energy and water infrastructure across the Gulf should Trump follow through on his threat.

“The US dollar/peso exchange rate again went up... ahead of Trump’s 48-hour deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz; while Iran threatened to completely close the Strait,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said in a message to reporters.

“Peso weakness due to rising inflation expectations given increasing global oil prices as US-Iran threats intensify,” Security Bank chief economist Angelo Taningco said in a separate message.

Malacañang previously said that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. wants to avoid the peso sliding to P60 per dollar, as this would raise the country’s debt.

For its part, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has maintained that it does not target a specific level, it intervenes to temper market volatility while continuing to watch for potential economic implications of the global oil price shock on the country.

Philippine equities also posted declines on Monday, with the main PSEi down by 119.44 points or 1.98% to 5,899.18 at the closing bell. The broader All Shares index lost 68.28 points or 2.04% to 3,276.59.

All sectoral indices closed on the red — financials down 2.50%, industrial 1.16%, holding firms 2.99%, property 2.98%, services 0.95%, and mining and oil 8.71%.

More than 1.356 billion shares, valued at P8.103 billion, changed hands. Decliners led advancers, 167 to 46, while 58 issues were unchanged.

“The Philippine market ended significantly lower as ongoing conflict in the MIddle East showed no signs of de-escalation, dampening investor sentiment,” Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said in a separate mobile message.

“Rising oil prices further weighed on the market, heightening concerns over inflation and input costs. As a result, cautious trading prevailed amid expectations of sustained price pressures and potential policy tightening,” he added.—LDF/RF, GMA Integrated News