Trump and Duterte. I could explain it but here it is in six easies.. https://www.pinoy-ofw.com/news/26438-cause-philippine-peso-currencies-fluctuate.html
I think OSO isn't far off, he basically hit it on the head about trump and duterte.. Particularly the peso would be generally about 20% better or more if corruption and killings and petty squabbles were not so rampant in the Philippine government and provincial and municipal administrations. Foreign companies have little desire to deal with the huge amount of corruption, and I think 80% of foreigners refuse to deal with Philippine companies and government agencies above a retail level for that reason, drastically affecting the economy. Unfortunately, the "first families" and influential people won't work to improve the situation, basically sticking to a desire to PMA (protect their own butts) for themselves instead of for the rest of the country..
Currency fluctuations are a function of supply and demand. Demand is a function of the marco and micro economics of what is going on in the Philippines and around the world. Supply is regulated by the Philippines and other investors in the currency. Think of currency as you would a stock. Why does a stock go up and down? Why does a company that is losing money have a higher valuation than a company that is making money?
all world currencies go up and down relative to each other reflecting a myriad of economic indicators as well as other issues. the changes reflect the relative purchasing power of each currency. trump and duterte probably have an impact but perhaps no more so than other world leaders. my dollars buy more in pesos now, about twenty per cent more , than when i came here in 2014,. if trump and duterte have an impact, trump has been dramatically positive for US citizens here. you can use this to your advantafe. i keep dollars in a philippine account and then covert as i need pesos but try to do this on an upswing. the long term trend suggests in five years a dollar will be worth about 56 to 58 pesos but its just a guess. the exchange fluctuates on a current basis by one or more pesos to the dollar each month, going up and down daily. it may be a fools game but i try to exchange based on watching for the best current rate i think the most significant way to help yourself is to look for the best place to exchange dollars for pesos to my knowledge the "x change?" under robinsons downtown has the best rate, better than their sister outlets and better than most banks. by all means avoid exchanging at street corner vendors you also will make the best of your money if you transfer dollars to the phils, bank account to bank account for little or no cost and then maximize your exchange as noted above. using an ATM for example may involve both a fee and getting nicked on the exchange rate they offer.
Some will argue that the US is as corrupt as the Philippines and that would be true. The difference here is that there is a wider dispersion of money among the citizens of the US than the Philippines. And this lack of circulation of money adds to the low value of the Philippine Peso (Piso) in the global market.
Full agreement with all you said and explained. I just want to add that I always ask (and very friendly insist) what's the "special rate for today?" when exchanging from my EUR to PHP account. BPI for example calls Cebu branch and offer you a higher exchange rate (depends on the amount you are exchanging) after some minutes. Than I compare to the moneychanger's rate.
actually there are many surveys about corruption by country done by different organizations. out of about 180 countries the US is usually in the 25 to 30 range and the Phils around a hundred. i agree the US has its own corruption problem, just that corruption appears to be more pervasive in Philippine culture. the Phils is ranked with many mideastern countries, mediteranean and african in this regard. i have had personal experience with corruption in courts on Luzon and with police on Mactan island. my opinion of Dumaguete City with regards to corruption is that things are much more reliable here and my opinion is that DgtCity is much better managed than most, thankfully!!
Phil. Corruption: in 2009 my Philippines work visa was expiring and I decided a Philippines permanent “Quota Visa” was the way to go for my ex-wife and I to stay here. To make sure we would be included in the 50-only U.S. Quota Visas allocation, we each had to pay 250,000p. True story. The BI process has now been cleaned up. Think I could get a refund?