Peso falls to new record low, nears ₱62:$1

The Philippine peso closed weaker against the US dollar on Wednesday after diving to a new record low near the ₱62:$1 level in intraday trading, as volatile global fuel prices amid renewed tensions in the Middle East drove up demand for the greenback.

The local currency shed 3 centavos to close at ₱61.815:$1, from ₱61.785:$1 on Tuesday.

During intraday trading, the peso nearly touched the ₱62:$1 level, hitting ₱61.995:$1 after opening at ₱61.85:$1. The opening rate already surpassed the previous record low of ₱61.847:$1 recorded on July 24.

The peso's weakness also extended to the Philippine stock market, with the benchmark PSEi shedding 106.36 points, or 1.70%, to close at 6,158.34.

The broader All Shares index also declined by 44.47 points, or 1.29%, to 3,396.35.

All sectoral indices—financials, industrial, holding firms, services, mining and oil, and property—also closed in the red.

Over 843.7 million shares valued at ₱5.8 billion changed hands. Decliners led advancers, 119 to 74, while 54 issues were unchanged.— MCG, GMA News