MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine peso touched the P57 level against the United States dollar on Monday, September 5, marking another all-time low for the local currency.

The peso closed at P56.999, a new record low from the P56.77 posted last Friday, September 2.

Major global currencies have bowed down to the dollar, as the hawkish Federal Reserve has aggressively hiked rates to cool down inflation.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation chief economist Michael Ricafort earlier said the P57 level is the current “psychological” resistance level, which means that traders are closely watching this figure to decide on their current market position.

A weaker peso may mean more income for households relying on overseas remittances. But higher import costs would likely push up inflation and offset gains.

Meanwhile, equities also slipped on Monday, with the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index shedding 0.25%.

On Wall Street, major indices had fallen last Friday.

“There was also some overhang as the US sold down on Friday, with fears that the Fed would stay aggressive in hiking rates to combat inflation,” Regina Capital’s Luis Limlingan said. – Rappler.com