Peso falls deeper to 58.49: $1

The Philippine peso fell yet again to a new all-time weakest position against the US dollar at 58.49:$1, after the US Federal Reserve announced another large interest rate hike of 0.75 percentage point that further strengthened the greenback.

The local currency traded on Sept 22 at as weak as 58.50:$1, eventually losing 49 centavos to the US dollar from the previous day’s closing of 58:$1.

According to ING Bank, the dollar broke new ground in terms of strength against other currencies following the hawkish move by the American central bank.

“With the Fed set to hike a further 100-125 basis points [one ppt to 1.25 ppt] this year, this all points to an even stronger dollar,” ING Bank said.