Peso falls over eurozone concerns

MANILA, Philippines—The peso fell further on Thursday as ongoing talks among European leaders about how to deal with the problem of Greece pushed investors to become more risk averse.

The local currency closed at its intraday low of 43.74 against the US dollar, 30 centavos down from the previous day’s finish of 43.44:$1.

Intraday high hit 43.49:$1, while volume of trade amounted to $818.13 million from $859.38 million previously.

The depreciation of the peso and other key Asian currencies came as European leaders deal with the problem of Greece. The debt-ridden European country is being asked to implement austerity measures and to stay in the eurozone, as leaders from the Western region try to avoid the worsening of its debt crisis.

Fund owners globally are concerned that highly unpopular austerity measures that Greece is being asked to implement will force the country to leave the eurozone and to default on its debts. Such an event is seen to cause volatility in financial markets worldwide as it encourages investors to stay on the sidelines and hold on to the dollar, a move traders say is usually resorted to at times of global economic uncertainty.