The peso weakened again against the dollar amid escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine

The PESO fell again against the dollar on Monday amid the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The local unit closed at P58.99 per dollar on Monday, down 12 centavos from Friday’s close of P58.87, Bankers Association of the Philippines data said.

The peso opened Monday’s session slightly stronger at P58.85 against the dollar. Its intraday high was P58.80, while its worst showing was its record low of P59 against the greenback.

The local unit closed at P59-per-dollar on Thursday to match the last record low in Oct. 17, 2022 before it erupts again on Friday.

Dollar sales fell to $1.06 billion on Monday from $1.07 billion on Friday.

“The US dollar/peso exchange rate has been higher recently amid some country risks related to the war between Russia and Ukraine since last week regarding the escalation of the conflict,” said Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Financial Officer Michael L. Ricafort in a Viber message. .

“Going forward, the performance of the peso will partly be a function of intervention as seen every two years, between the need to better manage inflation and the expectation of inflation to achieve the mandate of price stability which would also require stability in the exchange of the peso. average,” said Mr. Ricafort.

The peso fell against the dollar in anticipation of strong US economic reports due later this week, a trader said by email. US personal consumption expenditure data will be released on Nov. 27 (Wednesday).

On Tuesday, both the trader and Mr. Ricafort expects the peso to range from P58.80 to P59 against the dollar.

“Continued pressures on the greenback and profit-takers may keep the local currency on the sidelines,” a trader said.

Russian forces attacked electricity infrastructure in southern Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region and factories in southeastern Zaporizhzhia overnight, Ukrainian authorities said Monday, Reuters reported.

Engineers have restored power to many consumers facing power outages after the attack since early morning, Mykolaiv governor Vitaliy Kim said via the Telegram messaging app.

The governor reported that no one was injured and said that the air defense had brought down two drones in the region.

Russia also launched “tens of drones” to attack Zaporizhzhia overnight, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said on national television.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Russia used about 460 drones and more than 20 missiles to attack Ukraine last week.

Meanwhile, the dollar gave back some of its recent gains on Monday as the US Treasury Secretary’s election appeared to confirm the bond market and lower yields, stripping the currency of gains.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.351%, from 4.412% late on Friday, as President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of fund manager Scott Bessent was hailed by the bond market as an old Wall Street hand and conservative.

However, Mr. Bessent has also been in favor of a stronger dollar and has been supportive of prices, suggesting that any pullback in the currency may be fleeting.

The dollar was likely due to some consolidation as it rose for eight consecutive weeks for only the third time this century and many technical indicators were extremely bright.

The index ended down 0.5% at 106.950, hitting a two-year high of 108.090 on Friday. The dollar was down 0.4% against the Japanese yen at 154.11, and off its recent high of 156.76. – Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson with Reuters