The Philippine peso hit an intraday seven-year low of 48.53 against the US dollar before ending at 48.52 on Tuesday at the Philippine Dealing System.

On Monday, the peso closed at 48.355 against the US dollar. Volume soared from $299 million on Monday to $775 million.

In his Facebook account, Jonathan Ravelas, first vice president of Banco de Oro said: “Today's close above the 48.50 levels could signal the assault towards the 49.50 - 50.00 levels. These actions are all related to the strength of the greenback on expectations of a hike in the Fed funds rate in December.”

Stocks closed slightly lower with the Philippine Stock Exchange Index closing 13.89 points down to 7,520.82 points. DMS