The Philippine peso closed weaker against the US dollar on Wednesday after diving to a new record low near the P62:$1 level in intraday trading, as volatile global fuel prices amid renewed tensions in the Middle East drove up demand for the greenback.
The local currency shed 3 centavos to close at P61.815:$1, from P61.785:$1 on Tuesday.
During intraday trading, the peso nearly touched the ₱62:$1 level, hitting P61.995:$1 after opening at P61.85:$1. The opening rate already surpassed the previous record low of P61.847:$1 recorded on July 24.
The peso's weakness also extended to the Philippine stock market, with the benchmark PSEi shedding 106.36 points, or 1.70%, to close at 6,158.34.