Gov’t downplays projection of peso reaching to 58 to US dollar

September 18, 2018

The Duterte administration expressed belief on Tuesday that the peso will recover and would not further slide to 58 to the US dollar as projected by a London-based think tank.

In an interview in Pasay City, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said in the meantime, the interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee, which he heads, is sticking to its projection, which is the peso to dollar exchange rate of 50 to 53 in 2018 to 2022.

"We stick to the DBCC figures until 2022 in the meantime," he said.

The peso breached the 54 level as against the US dollar recently. On Tuesday, it closed at P54.07 after hitting the day's low of  P54.17.

Diokno said the projection of London-based research firm Capital Economics that the Philippine peso would fall further to P58 in 2019 was "not within our radar."

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque dismissed the Capital Economics' projection on the peso, saying that it is expected to recover towards the end of the year with the possible increase in remittances.

"We remain confident that the peso can recover because historically the peso becomes strongest come December because our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) remit more than usual in time for the holiday seasons," he said in a press briefing in Malacanang.  Celerina Monte/DMS