The dirham-peso exchange rate has remained stagnant within the Php14.7-Php14.8 range for more than a month now.
Dirham-peso rate on Wednesday, October 17, stands at Php14.7159, as per the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) exchange bulletin.
Records from BSP show that the dirham-peso exchange rate has not moved within the Php14.7-Php14.8 territory since September 13 when the rate hit Php14.7047. Since then, the exchange rate only played within the range.
Dirham-peso exchange rate almost reached Php14.8 in October 5 when the rate closed at Php14.7978 that day.
Earlier, UAE remittance companies told The Filipino Times that the peso-dirham exchange rate, which has continuously been moving up since last year, is headed to Php15, citing different factors.
One of which is the US’ move to hike interests resulting to a struggling peso.
Peso remains weak against US dollar which currently stands at Php54.04, as of press time.
The last time peso hit P54 was in 2005, according to BSP’s data.
Inflation to peak in October or November
Monetary Board member Felipe M. Medalla said that inflation rate is seen to further accelerate and even peak this October or November.
The rate, however, is not expected to reach 7 percent.
“We expect the month-on-month to start normalizing already. But because of the year-on-year, which is an accumulation of 12 months, [inflation] may still go up,” Medalla said.
In September, The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that inflation rate in the country has further risen to a new nine-year high of 6.7 percent.
The September inflation rate was slightly higher than the 6.4 percent rate reported in August and is the highest since March 2009.
