By Francisco Alcuaz Jr.
April 24 (Bloomberg) -- The Philippine peso was headed for its biggest weekly decline in two months on concern a widening budget deficit will erode confidence in the nation’s assets.
The currency yesterday reached a seven-week low versus the dollar after the government on April 22 said it had a first- quarter shortfall of 119.7 billion pesos ($2.5 billion) as revenue dropped. That exceeded the 110 billion peso ceiling for the period and accounts for 60 percent of the official full-year estimate, which was raised to 199 billion pesos just last week.
“It’s almost two-thirds of the limit for the year; that doesn’t leave much room for maneuver,” said Thio Chin Loo, a senior currency analyst at BNP Paribas in Singapore. “That news has kept the peso depressed.”
The currency traded at 48.580 per dollar as of 9:57 a.m. in Manila, down 1.5 percent from the end of last week, according to Tullet Prebon Plc. It strengthened 0.2 percent from yesterday, when it touched a low of 48.945.
To contact the reporter on this story: Francisco Alcuaz Jr. in Manila at falcuaz@bloomberg.net
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