good , the dollar buys more pesos now

[outwest77]

Just when i was thinking, if the dollar would at least get 50 pesos
again, i checked the rates, its back up to 50.03.
last week it was 49.5, when i was in manila one month ago it was 50.7

good, I know some of you think 1 peso per dollar is not that much
but.
if the dollar is getting 50 pesos, and then it suddenly gets 49
thats 2% decline in your purchasing power.
thats like going to the money exchange and handing the guy 100 dollars to exchange and he grabs 2 dollars right off the top, and says ok, now i will change the rest for you.
Ya i know im cheap but, 2 bucks on every hundred is not exactly
10 cents.
Well thats my 2 pesos worth of comments.
Outwest

[Ray]

... in response to good , the dollar buys more pesos now, posted by outwest77 on May 27, 2002

Hey Out, don’t get too concerned over how many pesos you can buy with a dollar during your next trip. It sounds good at first look when the rate goes up, but in the long run it hurts you anyway just as it hurts the Philippine economy.

Consider that the Philippines has to pay dollars for most of their crucial imports, especially oil. Since they import virtually all of their oil, their energy costs only go up when the peso/dollar exchange rate goes up. The cost of fuel and energy will eventually effect the price of almost everything in the country. So, when you think that your getting one more swallow of San Miguel beer for your dollar, the cost of taxis, ferries, plane fares, hotel rooms, chippy’s, baluts, Jollibee’s peach-mango pies, and yes, even San Miguel beer is going up. A weaker peso usually means more inflation in the Philippines.

For the sake of comparison, the official exchange rate was P3.85/dollar the first time I went to the Philippines. That was when they still had a fixed rate, before they let it float. So, I only got 4 pesos for my buck, but the jeepney fare was 10 centavos (US 2.5 cents), a frosty bottle of SM beer was 40 centavos in the sari-sari store or 1 peso in a night club (US 25 cents), hot pandesal was 5 centavos, coke was 10 centavos, taxis meters started at 50 centavos, barbecued monkey meat on a stick was 5 for a peso, etc.

So, bring back those days when I only got 4 pesos for my dollar!

Ray

[Humabdos]

... in response to good , the dollar buys more pesos now, posted by outwest77 on May 27, 2002

Yes good for you bad for Philippines! They need to recover the loss that the peso took. The lower it goes meens the Philippines is getting stronger. Yes you might save two dollars but at who's expense?  Remember half the country is starving.   Just my two centavo's  Humabdos

[outwest77]

... in response to Re: good for who?, posted by Humabdos on May 27, 2002

The whole country could use a shot in the arm economically
too, i cant figure out why such  a lovely country filled with happy, educated english speaking citizens, has such a poor economy,  
   As far as the exhange rate for the dollar, true, its a bit more complex than that, and imports become more expensive from the usa if the peso drops, as it recently
did this week, however their exports to the usa become more affordable to us, so i cannot see that as a minus to them. It may balance out with more orders for their factories,
However i dont think they export a whole lot to the usa directly, but we may have factories located their which manufacture usa goods.
the whole exchange rate thing to me is complex but fascinating, but ur point is well taken hum.
.