Peso weakens as US jobless claims decline

On Friday, the Philippine peso weakened against the US dollar due to declining US jobless claims and positive signals for economic recovery.

The peso closed at P49.20:$1, down from Thursday's close of P49.11.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.'s chief economist, Michael Ricafort, noted that the decline in initial jobless claims to 364,000 from 415,000 is a positive indicator for the US economy and contributed to the dollar's strength worldwide.

Since January 2021, the peso has depreciated by P1.177 or 2.5% against the US dollar.