Peso tumbles to fresh three-month low as US joins Iran-Israel conflict

THE PESO tumbled anew against the dollar on Monday, plunging to a fresh three-month low amid market fears over an escalation in the Middle East conflict as Iran threatened to retaliate after the United States attacked its nuclear sites over the week-end.

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The local unit closed at P57.58 versus the greenback, sinking by 41 centavos from its P57.17 finish on Friday, Bankers Association of the Philippines data showed.

This was the its worst close in nearly three months or since it finished at P57.69 against the dollar on March 26.

The peso opened Monday’s session weaker at P57.25 against the dollar, which was already its intraday best. It dropped to as low as P57.655 versus the greenback during the session.

Dollars exchanged dropped to $1.28 billion on Monday from $1.77 billion on Friday.

“The dollar-peso closed higher as demand for safe havens favored the dollar amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East after the US joined the war, attacking Iranian nuclear sites,” a trader said in a phone interview.