Peso declines 50 centavos to end at P52.70:$1

March 12, 2019

The peso lost 50 centavos to close at P52.70 against the US dollar while stocks ended mixed on Tuesday.

This came as Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno told ANC "if there's a need" to ease rates, it could be a cut in the reserve requirement ratio of about "one percentage point every quarter for the next four quarters."

The BSP's Monetary Board meets on March 21 to decide whether to keep rates at the same level. It is the first meeting for Diokno, who replaced former BSP governor Nestor Espenilla Jr after he passed away. 

Volume at the foreign exchange portal of the Bankers Association of the Philippines climbed to $1.743 billion from Monday's $833.54 million.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index finished at 7,747.54 points, up 38.62 points. But in the broader market, there were 108 decliners, 83 gainers while 56 shares were unchanged.

Volume reached 1.68 billion shares valued at P5.7 billion from Monday's 692.47 million shares worth P5.48 billion.

Most active shares were led by ICTSI, up 4.39 percent to P119; SM Prime, down 3.42 percent to P36.70; San Miguel Corp., down 0.06 percent to P174. DMS