THE strong growth registered by the Philippine economy has translated into an “intensifying build-up of imbalances”, which would further weaken the local currency by the end of 2017, a research group said.

In its “Philippines Insight” report released on Monday, Australia’s ANZ said the Philippine economy has undergone a structural improvement in the last decade with potential growth of about 6.5 percent–more than double of what it was during the 1990s.

“However, the recent period of strong growth has resulted in the build-up of imbalances in the economy, which in our view are intensifying,” it said.

Against this backdrop, the research group said the Philippine peso would need to bear the burden of adjustment and would likely to be the region’s worst performing currency in the remainder of 2017. MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO