Philippine Peso Predicted to Be Asia’s Worst-Performing Currency in 2018

  • Currency vulnerable to worsening current account: BDO Unibank
  • Bulls say recent declines have made valuations attractive
Bloomberg’s Clarissa Batino explains why analysts say the Philippine might become Asia’s worst performer in 2018.(Source: Bloomberg)
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Investors rejoicing over the Philippine peso’s rally to a six-month high should beware: the currency is predicted to be Asia’s worst performer next year.

The peso will slide to 51 per dollar by end of 2018, a loss of 1.5 percent from current levels, according to the median estimate of a Bloomberg survey, with a most bearish projection of 56. The currency will be undermined as the current-account deficit widens, while the central bank is slow to raise interest rates from a record low, strategists and fund managers say.