Peso weakens as COVID-19 concerns grow

On Friday, February 28, 2020, the Philippine peso weakened against the US dollar due to concerns over the global economic impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The local currency closed at P50.97:$1, a depreciation from Thursday’s close of P50.815.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort noted that this is among the weakest levels in four months but still strong compared to two years ago.

Local stock market concerns over COVID-19 led the benchmark PSEi to its lowest level since December 27, 2016.

Increased global risk aversion and fears of further slowing global economic growth due to the spread of coronavirus outside China caused a sell-off in risky assets worldwide.