Peso slides to near one-month low on flight to safety amid Venezuela turmoil

THE PESO dropped to a near one-month low on Monday, sinking back to the P59 level, as players flocked to safer assets following the United States’ attack on Venezuela.

The local unit fell by 28.9 centavos to close at P59.13 versus the greenback from its P58.841 finish on Friday, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.

This was its weakest close since its P59.21 finish on Dec. 10.

The peso opened Monday’s trading session weaker at P58.888 versus the dollar. Its worst showing was its closing level of P59.13, while its intraday best was at P58.85 against the greenback.

Dollars traded rose to $929 million from $699.13 million on Friday.

“The local currency weakened significantly from safe-haven dollar demand following the abrupt ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, which is highly expected to influence the global oil market,” the first trader said in an e-mail.

“The dollar-peso traded higher to close at its intraday high of P59.13 on renewed demand for safe-haven assets amid heightened geopolitical tensions, and after Economy Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said the peso will trade between P58 and P60 per dollar from 2026 until 2028,” the second trader said in a phone interview.

The dollar started the first full trading week of 2026 with a broad rally, Reuters reported. Currency traders largely looked past the United States’ weekend raid in Venezuela and the capture of Mr. Maduro, focusing instead on a slate of US macroeconomic indicators due this week that could be crucial in steering Federal Reserve policy.

The dollar advanced 0.3% to $1.1682 per euro, after earlier touching its strongest level since Dec. 10 at $1.1672.

It climbed to as high as 157.295 yen, 0.7951 Swiss franc and C$1.37771, all of which were the highest levels since Dec. 22.

Investors held their nerve on Monday after President Donald J. Trump said the US would take control of the oil-producing nation.

While Washington has not made such a direct intervention in Latin America since the invasion of Panama in 1989, Mr. Trump’s threats against Colombia and Mexico highlighted the aggressive shift in US policy and brought geopolitical perils back to the fore for financial markets at the start of the year.

For investors, Mr. Trump’s actions in Venezuela have also raised uneasy questions about their implications for China’s posture towards Taiwan and whether Washington might push more aggressively for regime change in Iran.

For Tuesday, the first trader said the peso could rebound on expectations of slower December inflation.

The first trader sees the peso moving between P58.90 and P59.15 per dollar, while the second trader sees it ranging from P58.80 to P59.20. — A.M.C. Sy with Reuters