Palace says Marcos closely monitoring weak peso

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is closely monitoring the value of the Philippine peso against the US dollar, the Office of the Press Secretary said on Tuesday.

Cruz-Angeles said the matter was not discussed during the 9th Cabinet meeting. However, the President has been regularly monitoring this.

"The President is in constant touch with the economic team and they are closely monitoring this. As you know naman, the inflation rate isn't due to any local factors. It's really about the exchange rate," Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said at a press briefing.

"But, it is a matter for the President, which the President closely monitors on a regular basis," she added.

On Friday, the Philippine peso fell to a new historic low against the US dollar as expectations of aggressive monetary policy tightening in the United States boosted the allure of the greenback.

The local currency shed 1 centavo to close at a fresh all-time low of P58.5:$1 from Thursday’s finish of P58.49:$1. Friday’s close was the fourth straight day that the peso fell to record lows.

Reports said since the start of 2022, the peso has already depreciated by a total of P7.501 or 14.7% from P50.999:$1 as of end-2021. —KG, GMA News