Fed rate hike weakens peso

MANILA – The Philippine peso weakened further against the greenback on Thursday, as the market digested the recent policy rate hike by the US central bank.

The local currency lost 3 centavos to close at P53.10:$1 from Wednesday’s P53.07:$1.

“Investors perceive that the recent hike of the US Fed may have been a mistake and that there is concern about a lack of relief from the Fed’s monetary tightening,” said Union Bank of the Philippines chief economist Ruben Carlo Asuncion.

It was the Fed’s the fourth rate hike for the year.

According to a Reuters report, the US central hank tightened interest rates by 25 basis points, and forecasted fewer rate increases in 2019 than it had during its September meeting.

“The dollar was steady in Asian trade on Thursday, and was off its overnight lows after the Federal Reserve rowed back from a more aggressive policy tightening path even as it gave markets the impression of being much less cautious than they had anticipated.” (GMA News)

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