The Philippine peso sank to a record closing low of 61.888 against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, even as the central bank raised interest rates for a third straight policy meeting to counter mounting inflation risks.
The peso weakened by 23.8 centavos from Wednesday’s close of 61.65, surpassing the previous record low of 61.847 set on July 24.
The currency opened at 61.71 and traded between 61.68 and 61.89 during the session, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.
Trading volume fell to $1.79 billion from $1.90 billion in the previous session.
The decline came after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Monetary Board raised its target reverse repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 5.00%.
The latest move brought cumulative rate increases to 75 basis points over three consecutive policy meetings.
