Philippine peso feeling forlorn in a good year for Asia currencies

Manila

ASIAN emerging market currencies have been having their best year since before the 2013 taper tantrum, bolstered by pace-setting growth rates and attractive yields.

But the Philippine peso has been left out of the party - ironically after it held up better than its peers, including the Indonesian rupiah, back in 2013.

Unless things change, it'll be a fifth straight year of declines for the peso, which is down 3.2 per cent so far in 2017 versus a 7.4 per cent rise for Thailand's baht.

For now, that slide may be set to deepen as traders test the tolerance levels of Philippine policymakers, who have so far refrained from actions to prop up the exchan…