The inflation-targeting Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is expected to continue raising interest rates to contain surging inflation despite the risk of slower economic growth. In a May 22 report, Japanese financial giant MUFG Bank Ltd. said the Philippines is facing one of the most severe...
Japanese financial giant MUFG Bank Ltd. revealed that the Philippine peso has emerged as the worst-performing currency in Asia since the flare-up of deepening military tensions between the United States (US) and Iran. According to data monitored by MUFG covering 11 Asian currencies, the peso has...
While Asian currencies have been on a modest decline since Middle East tensions flared up, Japanese financial giant MUFG Bank Ltd. said the Philippine peso was the biggest loser among regional currencies, given the domestic economy’s high exposure to imported oil. Separately, think tank Capital...
Private sector economists are split over whether the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will raise interest rates this week, as the need to anchor inflation expectations and defend the peso battles concerns over the fragile economic recovery. Of 10 economists surveyed, five expect a 25-basis-point...
The peso is struggling to claw back losses despite the two-week ceasefire between the United States (US) and Iran, remaining an outlier in a regional currency recovery as markets focus on the country’s acute sensitivity to energy prices. While the brief cessation of hostilities sparked a relief...
The ceasefire-driven rally of Asian currencies, including the Philippine peso, may be short-lived as global oil risks linger, according to Singapore-based Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. Ltd. (OCBC). In an April 9 report, OCBC Group Research foreign exchange (FX) strategists Sim Moh Siong and...
If the war in the Middle East prolongs and global oil prices continue to skyrocket, the Philippine peso could breach the ₱61:$1 level in the second quarter of 2026 and even hit as low as ₱62 to ₱64 against the United States (US) dollar. “Our base case forecasts for the US dollar-Philippine...
The peso tumbled to a fresh record low on Friday, March 27, breaching the 60.5-level as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East intensified and the central bank signaled it sees no immediate need to defend the currency. The peso weakened to ₱60.55 per dollar, surpassing the previous historic low...
Foreign lenders are backing the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) increasingly hawkish stance as the local economy grapples with war-driven oil price volatility and supply disruptions. Nomura Holdings Inc., a Japanese investment and brokerage giant, raised its expectations for “significant”...
Japanese financial giant MUFG Bank Ltd. said investors have turned pessimistic following heightened political risks, but the relative strength of the Philippine peso is buoying sentiment. “Political risks are escalating as street protests call for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s resignation...
Japanese financial giant MUFG Bank, Ltd, now sees the Philippine peso weakening at a deeper level, as the sudden shift in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) tone has also made the market more expectant of about two additional cuts. “We now pencil in the BSP cutting rates to 4.25 percent by...
Japanese financial giant MUFG Bank Ltd. expects the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to maintain the key policy rate at five percent throughout 2025 but anticipates the central bank will reduce it by another one percentage point (ppt) to four percent in 2026. Based on MUFG’s Sept. 24 report,...