The Philippine peso weakened back to the P59:$1 level on Wednesday following remarks from Donald Trump and new government data showing a decline in foreign direct investments. The local currency depreciated by 27.4 centavos to close at P59.17:$1 on Wednesday, from P58.896:$1 on Tuesday. Trump earlier warned Iran against laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping corridor, as tensions continue in the Middle East. Meanwhile, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed that foreign direct investments in the Philippines dropped to a five-year low of $7.791 billion, although the figure remained above the central bank’s $7-billion projection. Ricafort said the peso-dollar exchange rate may move between P59.05:$1 and P59.30:$1 on Thursday, March 12.
