The Philippine central bank has spared no expense in preventing the peso weakening past the crucial 57 per dollar level. It may all be for nothing as rising oil prices and the prospect of hefty interest-rate cuts threaten to bludgeon the currency.
The peso has fallen about 1% this year to close at 56.02 to the greenback Monday. That leaves it within striking distance of the level at which Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas intervened last year to stop the currency from falling further.