Peso falls slightly anew as BSP set to move vs currency speculation

MANILA, Philippines—The peso fell slightly on Tuesday amid expectations that the central bank would implement a measure against currency speculation and consequently ease appreciation of the local currency.

The peso closed at 41.075 on the second trading day of the week, down by 3.5 centavos from the previous day’s finish of 41.04:$1.

Intraday high hit 41:$1, while intraday low settled at 41.08:$1.

Volume of trade reached $568.6 million from $603.7 million previously.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has said it is carefully monitoring market behavior to see if there are significant currency speculations in the market.

The BSP said that the monetary authority has taken steps to immediately act, whenever necessary, on a key issue such as foreign portfolio inflows, especially the kind involving speculation on the currency.

Traders said market behavior was being driven partly by pronouncements by the BSP even as the outlook on the Philippine economy has remained positive.