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MANILA – Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor Nestor Espenilla said Monday he was ready to deploy the “full policy and regulatory arsenal if necessary” to defend the peso against speculators.
The gradual depreciation of the peso against the dollar is “fully consistent” with the Philippine economy’s shift to investment-led growth, Espenilla said in a statement.
The peso breached the P51 level against the dollar last week, as the growth in imports outpaced exports, reflecting demand from the government’s P8-trillion infrastructure program.
Espenilla said the BSP was explaining currency movements to prevent uncertainty in the markets. Such unease could allow speculators to take advantage of an otherwise “healthy price correction,” he said.
“The BSP will not tolerate such speculative behavior and stands ready to use its very ample international reserves and deploy its full policy and regulatory arsenal if necessary,” he said.
“In any case, we think that the peso has now sufficiently adjusted and can be expected to regain relative stability going forward,” he said. (ABS-CBN News)
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