Hitting its second all-time low just this week.
On Thursday, March 19, the Philippine Peso closed at PHP60.10 to 1 US Dollar. That rate is 58 centavos lower than the day prior’s PHP59.52 and 23 centavos lower than the PHP59.87 logged last Monday, March 16.
Furthermore, this is the lowest level that the local currency hit in history and the first time that it has crossed the PHP60 mark.
In a prior statement, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said that it is monitoring the effects of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the national inflation on the country’s current account-including remittances and trade-and financial markets.
“On the peso, the BSP stresses that it operates in the foreign exchange market to smooth excess volatility and maintain orderly conditions,” the central bank said. “This is consistent with a flexible exchange rate policy, with intervention limited to tempering large swings that could affect inflation rather than defending any specific level.“
Ahead of the monetary-policy meeting on 23 April 2026, the BSP also said it is closely monitoring the impact of the Middle East conflict on Philippine inflation and the economy.
“Price stability is the BSP’s main mandate. As such, the BSP is assessing the potential impact of higher oil price on the price of fertilizer, transport fares, and inflation in general,” and emphasized that policy will be driven by data.
Meanwhile, the Bangko Sentral furthered that it is one in hoping for the safety of overseas Filipino workers and other civilians based in the Middle East As
Earlier this week, the BSP disclosed that overseas Filipino (OF) cash remittances reached US$3.02 billion in January 2026, 3.5 percent higher than the US$2.92 billion recorded in January 2025.
Personal remittances—including cash sent through banks and informal channels as well as remittances in kind—grew by 3.5 percent from US$3.24 billion in January 2025 to US$3.36 billion in January 2026.
The United States remained the top source of cash remittances to the Philippines in January 2026, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia.