MANILA – The Philippine peso traded weaker against the US dollar in the morning session Wednesday, a day after financial market platforms suspended operations in line with the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine since Tuesday.
It opened the day at 51.8, sideways from its 51.25 start during the trading last Monday.
It weakened to as much as 51.85 but also improved to 51.01.
Analysts have attributed the weakness of currencies mainly to worries related to coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic and its impact on global growth.
Latest reports placed total cases around the globe to over 198,000 with over 7,900 deaths.
The Philippines to date has recorded 187 confirmed infections, with 14 deaths and six recoveries.
In an advisory Wednesday, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said operating hours of the Philippine Payment and Settlement System (PhilPaSS) remain at 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. “to settle all retail transactions which include transactions via ATMs, automated clearing houses (PESONet and InstaPay), checks and urgent fund transfers requested by banks for corporates, as well as trading with the BSP Financial Market Operations Sub-Sector.”
Citing a report from the Bankers Association of the Philippines, the central bank said Philippine peso-US dollar trading, as well as trading of government securities, will be “settled in PhilPaSS within 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.”