Peso sliding too fast: official

Peso sliding too fast: official

MANILA: Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho expressed concern on Thursday that the Philippines peso may be depreciating too steeply, too fast.

The unit hit a new 31-month intraday low on Thursday at 55.250 pesos to the greenback after hitting record closing lows for the past two days.

"There are fundamental reasons for the dollar-peso exchange rate to rise, but it should not reach a level that we are seeing now," Camacho said in a radio interview.

These fundamental reasons stem from the onset of the import season and traditionally lower remittances from overseas Filipino workers at this time of the year, among others, Camacho said.

He declined to give the peso's correct valuation or say if the government is doing something to limit the fall.

Camacho said lingering political and economic concerns after a failed military mutiny last month are also weighing on the peso, with investors hedging dollars on worries that the local currency will decline further. -- AFP