Sunday, August 19, 2007 Peso fall ‘temporary’, Palace says
MALACANANG insisted Saturday the depreciation of the peso in the last two days is temporary, and that it maintains its competitiveness among currencies in Asia.
Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the peso will remain propped up by "strong fundamentals" of the Philippine economy, particularly its balance-of-payments surplus and record-high international reserves.
"We view the recent depreciation of the peso as a temporary correction experienced by a number of emerging markets arising from the sub-prime mortgage problem in the US. We believe that our strong fundamentals, specially our strong external position (e.g. Balance of Payments surplus, record high international reserves) will support the peso," he said in a statement.
He added the peso continues to maintain its relative competitiveness as it follows the general trend in the movement of Asian currencies.
Bunye added the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) "will continue to allow market forces to determine the exchange rate."
The peso’s exchange rate stands at 46.75 to one dollar. (JMR/Sunnex)
