Peso dips on news of China’s slower pace of growth

MANILA, Philippines — The peso slightly dropped on the first trading day of the week amid concerns China might be headed for a slower growth.

The local currency closed at 41.615 against the US dollar, down by 2 centavos from Friday’s finish of 41.595:$1.

Intraday high hit 41.60:$1, while intraday low settled at 41.69:$1.

Volume of trade amounted to $659.685 million from $742.1 million.

The depreciation of the peso came amid reports China might allow its economy to slow down a bit this year to help prevent an overheating economy.

Economists said such a scenario would somewhat dampen export earnings of neighboring countries like the Philippines, which has China as one of its major export markets.