Think tank sees peso weakening faster than yr-end forecast earlierA private think tank said the expected weakening of the Philippine peso past the P50:$1 level may occur before the end of the first quarter, much earlier than the end of the year, forecast previously by another group of private financial analysts. Given this, the think tank said the peso-dollar rate may drop from P49.99:$1 in January to P50.18:$1 in February, before further weakening to P50.49:$1 in March. The report recalled that the peso took a further beating after the US Fed raised interest rate by 25 basis points on December 14 last year. The peso closed at P49.72 against the greenback at the end of last year. The government has an exchange rate assumption of P48 to P50 per US dollar in 2017 to 2018.

Source: Manila Times January 23, 2017 15:32 UTC