THE Philippine peso plunged to a new all-time low after closing at P57.43 against the US dollar on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines (Bap) showed.

The peso weakened to as low as P57.44 in intraday trading.

The previous historic low was P57.18 recorded on Sept. 8.

The peso continues to weaken as the dollar sustains its rally.

It’s not the peso that’s weak as all other currencies have also been depreciating.

The dollar has strengthened further after the US Federal Reserve signaled there could be another big time rate hike next week to tame inflation.

Interest rate hikes by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas should be made more aggressive to support the currency.

The central bank is set to hold its policy-setting meeting on Sept. 22.

Since the start of 2022, the Philippine peso has weakened against the greenback by P6.411, or 12.6 percent from the P50.999:$1 as of end-2021.