Peso weakens to 44.815:$1

The peso fell to a fresh 40-month low against the dollar on Tuesday, tracking losses of other Asian currencies ahead of the release of retail sales data from the United States.

The local currency slumped to its lowest point so far this year to close at 44.815 to $1 on Tuesday, losing 21 centavos from the close last Monday. This was the weakest close since Sept. 2, 2010, when the unit

ended at 44.95 against the greenback.

The peso’s fall came despite lower-than-expected US non-farm payrolls (NFP) data over the weekend, which showed the US added less than 100,000 jobs last December versus the consensus 200,000 new workers. This spurred a rethinking of the direction of monetary policies in the United States.

“US NFP surprised markets as it came lower than consensus, hence prompting players to dump the US dollar across the board,” Metrobank said in a note to clients on Tuesday.—Paolo G. Montecillo