The peso weakened against the dollar on Wednesday as geopolitical concerns intensified sentiment on markets.
The Philippines' Bankers Association showed that the local sector closed at P55.66 per dollar, completing three Centavos from P55.63 on Tuesday.
Peso beat the dollar at the opening meeting on Wednesday with P55.58. It dropped to P55.70 as low as P55.70, while its best intraday was P55.56, while Greenback was P55.56.
The exchanged dollar fell to $1.51 billion from $1.999 billion on Tuesday.
“The US dollar was originally [rose] “By P55.56, the pressure on the dollar was still under the dollar after Moody's U.S. credit rating downgrade, but risky sentiment in the peso rose to P55.70 due to ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran,” a trader said in a telephone interview.
News about Israel's plan to strike Iran's nuclear facilities has also led to global crude oil prices, which has further dragged down the peso, said Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. in a Viber message.
On Wednesday, traders expect the peso to be between P55.50 and P55.80 per dollar on Tuesday, while Mr Ricafort believes it ranges from P55.55 to P55.75.
CNN reported on Tuesday that new intelligence obtained by the United States showed that Israel was preparing for a strike on Iran's nuclear facility and cited several U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence.
CNN added that it is unclear whether the Israeli leader has made the final decision, with the U.S. government disagreeing within the U.S. government over whether the Israeli final decision to strike.fquality.
Reuters was unable to confirm the report immediately, which caused oil prices to rise by more than 1% as such strikes could disappoint Iranian flows. The National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Israeli Embassy in Washington Prime Minister of IsraelfThe ICE and the Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A source familiar with the intelligence told CNN that the possibility of Israel's strike on Iran's nuclear facilities “has risen sharply in recent months.”
CNN added that if the U.S. reached an agreement with Iran without eliminating all uranium in the country, the opportunity to strike was more likely.
The administration of U.S. President Donald J. Trump has been in talks with Iran to reach a diplomatic deal on its nuclear program.
CNN reported that the new intelligence is based on public and private communications by senior Israeli officials, as well as interception and observation of Israel's military movement.
CNN quoted two sources saying that the U.S. military preparations observed by the U.S. are the movement of air ammunition and the completion of air exercises.
State media reported that Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the U.S. demands that Tehran stop enriching uranium is “excessive and outrageous”, expressing doubts about whether negotiations on a new nuclear deal will succeed. – Aaron Michael C. and Reuters
