The Philippine peso slipped below the key 62-per-USD mark on Friday, tumbling as
much as 0.6% to a record low of 62.25 per USD and prompting markets to watch for
central bank intervention. Rising oil prices intensified pressure: the
Philippines imports nearly all its oil, so higher crude could widen the
current-account deficit. Sumitomo Mitsui and China Bank had flagged 1 USD = 62
PHP as a critical level. The Philippine central bank said on Aug 19 it would
"intervene to address market disorder and damp extreme volatility, especially
where it could add to inflation," but the governor said on Wednesday
policymakers would not defend a specific exchange rate and would instead focus
on smoothing violent swings. The peso is down more than 5% year-to-date, among
the weakest Asian currencies.
