Peso ends 2013 at 44.395

MANILA, Philippines - The peso ended the year at 44.395 to a dollar, more than seven percent weaker than its end-2012 level.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. told reporters late last week the peso weakend by 7.35 percent against the greenback this year.

He added the peso’s volatility, a measure of the magnitude of its fluctuations this year, was seen at 3.24 percent.

This is the complete opposite of the peso’s movement last year when it appreciated 6.8 percent to 41.05 to a dollar.

Tetangco said that the peso continued to move in line with other Asian currencies.

The Singaporean dollar, he cited as an example, depreciated by 3.54 percent against the dollar with a volatility of 1.2 percent.

The Thailand baht depreciated by 6.76 percent with a volatility of 3.32 percent, while the Malaysian ringgit weakened by 6.87 percent with a volatility of 2.81 percent.

The Indian rupee also plunged by 11.47 percent this year with a volatility of 6.69 percent, while the Indonesian rupiah fell 21.47 percent with a volatility of 8.02 percent.

The Japanese yen also depreciated this year by 17.56 percent and had a volatility of 4.06 percent.

Tetangco said the Korean won and Chinese yuan were the only ones that bucked the trend among Asian currencies.

The won appreciated by 1.54 percent this year with a volatility of 2.57 percent, while the yuan strengthened by 2.67 percent with a volatility of 0.84 percent.

The peso’s movements this year were driven mostly by the anticipation of the US Federal Reserve’s tapering of stimulus.

This is due to volatility that hit global markets following the Fed’s hint in May that it will eventually decrease the volume of its massive asset purchases.

The anticipation prompted investors and central banks across the world to rebalance their portfolios, causing sell-offs in a lot of global markets especially those in emerging economies.

The Fed on Dec. 18 finally announced the start of its tapering as it will implement a modest $10-billion cut in its monthly asset purchases to $75 billion starting January next year.