The peso retreated back to the 59-to-the-dollar territory on Friday, after fresh data showed economic growth had softened to 4 percent in the third quarter, the weakest pace in four years. The local currency lost 10 centavos from its previous closing to cap the week at 59.04 — hovering near the record low of 59.13 set in late October. Total trading volume eased to $1.2 billion from $1.3 billion the previous day.
While the peso had since regained some ground from last month’s record slump, the central bank said it would allow market forces to determine the exchange rate, adding it won’t intervene to prevent day-to-day volatility.