MANILA. Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine peso slid to a new record low against the U.S. dollar for the third straight day, closing at 58.49 pesos on Thursday, according to data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines.
The new record breached the 58 pesos recorded on Wednesday, the ninth time the Philippine currency fell to an all-time low.
The peso weakened following the U.S. Federal Reserve's sharp interest rate increase overnight.
Deputy Governor of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Philippine central bank, Francisco Dakila told a press conference that "the peso's movement is a natural consequence of current account dynamics of a growing economy."
The BSP on Thursday hiked the country's interest rate on the overnight reverse repurchase facility again by 50 basis points to 4.25 percent effective Friday to curb "broadening" inflation.
"The intention (of the interest rate hike) is not to target a particular level or trend of the exchange rate," said Dakila, adding that "the priority is to bring inflation back to within the target band over the medium term."
Dakila said the BSP "stands ready to participate in the foreign exchange market only to ensure orderly market conditions and to reduce excessive short-term volatility in the exchange rate." ■
