US Dollar/Philippine Peso FX Spot Rate

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a key measure of inflation, rose 6.1% in August year-on-year, slowing from 6.2% in July and marking the fourth consecutive month of deceleration. The slowdown in inflation is good news for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), which recently raised interest rates by 0.25% at its meeting last week, the third consecutive hike, and signaled readiness to tighten monetary policy further. However, the latest inflation figure remains well above the BSP's full-year target of 3%, as utility costs and food prices have risen, albeit at a slower pace. The BSP had previously forecast August inflation to be in the range of 5.5% to 6.5%. Meanwhile, domestic and external headwinds have caused the Philippine economy to grow at the second-weakest pace and post the fastest inflation among Southeast Asian countries in the second quarter of 2026. The Philippine peso has been the worst-performing currency in Asia this year. The Philippines imports over 90% of its oil needs from the Middle East, making it highly vulnerable to supply disruptions and price volatility.

The Philippine central bank (BSP) raised its policy interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 5% on Thursday, August 27, marking the third consecutive rate hike to control inflation that remains about twice the target, even as the economy expanded only 2.3% in the second quarter, one of the lowest in Southeast Asia. The decision aligned with the expectations of 20 out of 25 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The rate hike came just hours after the BSP governor told lawmakers that the bank is ready to take measures to bring inflation back to target and may help support the peso, which has weakened nearly 5% since the start of 2026. The BSP expects average inflation to exceed the upper end of its 4% target range both this year and next, before gradually easing to the 3% target by 2028. The Philippine rate hike contrasts with Indonesia and Thailand, which kept rates unchanged at their latest meetings.

This week in ASEAN, Thailand and Myanmar are deepening energy cooperation by discussing the renewal of a gas purchase agreement from existing sources and studying investment in new petroleum fields such as A6, while preparing a new memorandum of understanding covering exploration, production, gas trading, and power grid interconnection. Meanwhile, the Philippine central bank has not ruled out further interest rate hikes even though the latest quarterly GDP grew only 2.3 percent, the lowest in ASEAN. Singapore has raised its 2026 GDP forecast to 4.5 to 5.5 percent from the previous 2 to 4 percent, supported by global AI investment that helped the manufacturing sector expand 12.5 percent. The Philippines plans to borrow about 3.3 trillion pesos, or 54 billion dollars, in 2027, equivalent to 46 percent of the budget, to stimulate the economy. At the same time, SpaceX's Starlink has begun accepting orders for satellite internet service in Vietnam, with starting fees of 1.13 million dong, or about 43 dollars per month. Vietnam's central bank also warned that a funding gap of about 76.8 billion dollars could pressure liquidity, interest rates, and the currency.

Philippine central bank Governor Eli Remolona said the central bank is ready to tighten monetary policy further to bring inflation back to target, even as the economy slows, stressing that its main mission is to maintain price stability. The signal comes ahead of the next rate-setting meeting on August 27, after it has already raised rates by 0.50% this year. Meanwhile, gross domestic product in the second quarter grew just 2.3% year-on-year, slowing from 2.8% in the first quarter and below analyst expectations of 2.8%, marking the slowest growth since the end of 2009, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic period.

ING economists Deepali Bhargava and Lynn Song warn that upside inflation risks are re-emerging for the Philippine Peso, driven by recovering oil prices and expectations of a strong El Niño that could spark a food-price shock. Rising global rice and fertiliser prices add to pressures.

MUFG says the South Korean won, Thai baht, Singapore dollar, and to a smaller extent the Philippine peso are the main Asian FX beneficiaries if Japanese yen strength persists, given their higher sensitivity to USD/JPY.