The peso, which has fallen 13 percent against the dollar this year, is widely expected to decline further in 2009 due to the impact a worsening global economic downturn will have on foreign investments, exports and overseas remittances.
The peso ended this year at 47.52 to the dollar, 6.24 weaker than at end-2007, eroding a 19-percent gain it posted last year.
Even though the United States is in the grip of recession, the dollar has entered a long-term up-cycle, thus becoming a haven for risk-averse global investors, local currency dealers said.
