(Bloomberg) -- The Philippines’ top economic planner said the nation’s remittance-reliant economy could benefit from the peso’s weakness, as Donald Trump’s election victory fueled a rally in the dollar.
“We are not disturbed by now with the level of the exchange rate,” National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said at a media briefing on Thursday. “Overall, I think the current rate should be favorable to the economy.”
Remittances from around 10 million Filipinos working overseas — about a tenth of the country’s population — are the nation’s largest source of foreign exchange after exports, and the workers and their families benefit when the dollar is stronger. “It’s the sharp swings in the exchange rate that is not good for the economy” as it makes business planning more difficult, he added.
The Philippine peso fell for a second day on Thursday to 58.73 per dollar, its lowest level since July and near the record-low 59 seen in 2022. The weakness is in line with the declines in some Asian currencies following the result of the US election.
Balisacan sees the Philippines still benefiting from stronger ties with the US under Trump, but will be watchful of any impact on the global economy if the president-elect pushes through with his plans to raise tariffs.
The Philippines will continue aggressively pushing for free trade agreements with other countries and regions to diversify markets for its goods and services, he said.
Finance Secretary Ralph Recto separately told a forum that the dollar’s strength “may be temporary,” and that it’s “hard to tell” for now how a second Trump presidency would affect the Philippine economy.
--With assistance from Cliff Venzon and Andreo Calonzo.
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