The Philippine peso hit a record low against the dollar on Friday, succumbing to political worries and heavy import demand, while other Asian currencies also fell as the US dollar resumed its uptrend.
The peso hit 56.35 per dollar, its lowest ever, from the previous day's close at 56.20. It has fallen 1.5 percent in 2004.
"There are two reasons. The normal one is because corporates tend to bunch up dollar demand at the end of the month," said John McGowan, treasurer at HSBC, Manila.
Plus, the Philippine Supreme Court on Friday began studying files on the eligibility of presidential frontrunner Fernando Poe Jr to contest the May 10 election, and officials said a delay in the ruling could lead to weeks of campaign confusion.
"That just creates a little bit of uncertainty and pressure," McGowan said.
The central bank kept monetary policy unchanged last week. On Friday, Governor Rafael Buenaventura said the peso's fall was temporary.
McGowan said the peso had always been edgy during political uncertainty as was seen in January 2001, during the ousting of Joseph Estrada from the presidency.
It then hit a low of 55.75 per dollar and rebounded sharply to near 45 on a single trading day, when the uncertainty eased.
Elsewhere, the Singapore dollar, Korean won and Taiwan dollar fell alongside the majors, as the yen hit a month's low against the dollar.
Initially, the Asian currencies recovered as the US dollar pared gains after a disappointing US manufacturing survey and markets speculated this week's correction was over.
The Taiwan dollar and Korean won are still up over two percent each against the dollar in 2004.
On Friday, the won fell as far as 1,169 against the dollar, clawed back about 4 won and then dipped again. The Taiwan dollar recovered to 33.17 from Thursday's two-week low past 33.31 and then closed onshore trading weaker at 33.22.
The Indonesian rupiah rallied from a 10-day low of 8,443 and the Thai baht was in a steady 39.15-39.19 per dollar range.
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