The Philippine peso fell this week by the most in two months, leading losses among Asian currencies, on concern record oil prices will quicken inflation and slow economic growth.
The peso slid for a sixth week after Economic Planning Secretary Augusto Santos said GDP growth in the first quarter probably slowed to as little as 5.2 percent because inflation at a three-year high restrained consumer spending. Oil prices reached US$135.09, double what they were a year ago.
South Korea’s won and Indonesia’s rupiah also slumped on demand for dollars to fund oil imports.
“Inflation is definitely weighing on the economic outlook not just in the first quarter but for the rest of the year,” said Vishnu Varathan, a regional economist at Forecast Singapore PTE. “That’s adding to the peso’s weakness.”
The peso fell 1.5 percent this week to 43.465 per dollar in Manila, according to the Bankers Association of the Philippines, the most since the five days ended March 14. The won dropped 0.7 percent to 1,047.65 and the rupiah declined for a third week, to 9,313.
The Philippine economy may grow 6 percent in the first quarter, the slowest pace in six quarters, a survey compiled by Bloomberg News showed before a government report on May 29. Growth was 7.4 percent in the final quarter of last year.
Central bank Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said this week the economy “will definitely suffer” if oil prices remain above US$125 a barrel. The country imports almost all of its fuel needs.
The won fell to 1,057.40 on May 21, the lowest since October 2005, on concern oil prices will increase the nation’s import bill and slow economic growth. South Korea imports almost all of its oil needs and reported a fourth consecutive current-account deficit in March.
Indonesia’s rupiah fell after Indonesian Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the government will raise domestic fuel prices by an average 29 percent to reduce its subsidies, prompting protests from students and labor unions.
Malaysia’s ringgit pared a weekly gain after the government said it will also cut subsidies within two months. The ringgit traded at 3.2175 per US dollar in Kuala Lumpur for a 0.5 percent gain on the week, according to Bloomberg data, ending a four-week slump.
Elsewhere, the New Taiwan dollar gained 0.5 percent in the five days to NT$30.5, halting a four-week slide. Thailand’s baht advanced 0.7 percent to 32.06 against the US currency, while the Vietnamese dong fell for a third week to trade at 16,199.
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
GEOPOLITICAL CONCERNS: Foreign companies such as Nissan, Volkswagen and Konica Minolta have pulled back their operations in China this year Foreign companies pulled more money from China last quarter, a sign that some investors are still pessimistic even as Beijing rolls out stimulus measures aimed at stabilizing growth. China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments dropped US$8.1 billion in the third quarter, data released by the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed on Friday. The gauge, which measures foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, was down almost US$13 billion for the first nine months of the year. Foreign investment into China has slumped in the past three years after hitting a record in 2021, a casualty of geopolitical tensions,
‘SOMETHING SPECIAL’: Donald Trump vowed to reward his supporters, while President William Lai said he was confident the Taiwan-US partnership would continue Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the US early yesterday morning, an extraordinary comeback for a former president who was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts. With a win in Wisconsin, Trump cleared the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the presidency. As of press time last night, The Associated Press had Trump on 277 electoral college votes to 224 for US Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s nominee, with Alaska, Arizona, Maine, Michigan and Nevada yet to finalize results. He had 71,289,216 votes nationwide, or 51 percent, while Harris had 66,360,324 (47.5 percent). “We’ve been through so
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