The peso teetered close to 50 against the US dollar in thin trading at the Philippine Dealing on Monday while stocks resumed their decline after rallying last week.

The peso hit a low of P49.93 against the dollar before pulling back slightly to end the session at a near eight-year low of P49.83, down from Friday’s P49.78. The peso last hit this level on November 2008.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index slipped sharply after the lunchtime break, losing 117.98 points less than one hour before markets closed. The index ended 88.67 points lower to 6,979.06 points.

The peso, like other Asian currencies, has been pulled down by the strong US dollar, which soared to 13-year highs on Friday after the US Federal Reserve said a rate hike could be soon.

Meanwhile, Jollibee Foods Corp. , the largest Asian food service company, disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange it entered into an agreement through its subsidiary, JSF Investments Pte. Ltd. with its joint venture partner, Viet Thai International Joint Stock Company to make its joint venture company, Superfoods Group a public company.

The listing of Superfoods Group at the Vietnam Stock Exchange through an initial public offering will be on or before July, 2019. The Superfoods joint venture owns and operates the brands Highlands Coffee and Pho 24. DMS