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MANILA — The Philippine peso breached the P59 level intraday before recovering and closing at P58.98 against the US dollar on Wednesday, according to data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines.

The local currency fell to as low as P59.02 to the dollar earlier during intraday trading before recovering later in the day.

On Tuesday, the peso closed at a new record low of P58.99 against the greenback. Several analysts have said the peso hitting P60 is possible.

AB Capital Securities Vice President and Head of Research Jovis Vistan said this is due to the strong US currency.

"The dollar is the one strengthening against all currencies, not just the peso. It’s the US dollar that’s extremely strong," Vistan told ANC.

LOOK: The Philippine peso touches the ₱59 level against the US dollar for the first time ever, according to BAP data pic.twitter.com/D7TciLAfd8

— Edson C. Guido (@EdsonCGuido) September 28, 2022

But the peso is expected to slightly recover from remittances and exports during the holiday.

"We should see some relief, the question is when is it going to happen," Vistan said.

• Gov't bets on holiday remittances, 'pamasko' to stabilize peso

At the start of the year, the peso was trading at P51 to the dollar. Since Jan. 3, the first trading day of 2022, the peso has lost more than 15 percent against the greenback.

Meanwhile, the bloodbath at the Philippine Stock Exchange Index continued. The PSEi plunged another 2.33 percent on Wednesday to 5,879.68, just a day after it shed 3.84 percent.

So far, there is no solid sign of a reversal, Regina Capital Development Corp Equity Analyst Jemimah Alfonso said.

Vistan said market sentiments are likely to remain negative until the US Fed and the global interest rate tightening ends.

However, the US Federal Reserve had warned that it would implement more interest rate hikes in the near term

• Peso falls again, nears P59 vs dollar; Philippine shares tumble