Peso plumbs closer to 11-yr. low

The Philippine peso retreated against the dollar to plumb closer to an 11-year low on Monday, as the greenback strengthened after the release of stronger-than-expected US employment data.

The local currency depreciated by 11.5 centavos to close at P50.695:$1 Monday from 50.580 Friday.

This is the weakest since September 1, 2006, when the peso closed at P50.735:$1. This is also the weakest for the peso so far this year.

"When nonfarm payrolls come out better than expected, usually the dollar strengthens and true enough, that happened," a foreign exchange trader at a local bank said in a phone interview.

American nonfarm payrolls totaled 222,000 in June, higher than market expectations of 179,000.

The trader said the market will be turning in on the upcoming speech of US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen before the Congress on July 12, 2017. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VDS, GMA News