April 8, 2026
MANILA – The peso weakened Tuesday as the US dollar firmed ahead of a US deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and after fresh data showing March inflation had breached the central bank’s target.
The currency fell 28 centavos to close at 60.33 per dollar.
Trading volume slipped to $1.7 billion from $1.9 billion in the previous session.
Five weeks into the Middle East war triggered by a joint US-Israeli air assault on Tehran, US President Donald Trump has demanded that Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping by midnight GMT on Tuesday, or face a newly devastating round of bombing.
At home, inflation surged to 4.1 percent in March from 2.4 percent in February as the Middle East war caused oil price shocks and unprecedented local currency depreciation.
This marks the highest rate in nearly two years since July 2024. It also exceeded the 2 percent to 4 percent target range of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. /dda (With a report from AFP)