The Philippine central bank on Thursday downplayed the massive selloffs in local financial markets and insisted the Southest Asian country's fastest growing economy remains in good footing.

Amando Tetangco Jr., governor of the Philippine central bank, said in a text message that recent movements in both the foreign exchange and equity markets were due to "global risk."

Tetangco said the Philippine economy, which grew 7.8 percent in the first quarter, remains "sound" and that inflation remains " well-anchored" at 3 percent as of May.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index plummeted 6.75 percent on Thursday, the biggest single-day drop since the collapse of the Lehman Brothers in 2008.

The Philippine peso, on the other hand, strengthened by 10 centavos versus the dollar to close at 43.10, after it dropped to one-year low of 43.20 on Tuesday.

"We continue to be watchful of market conduct, including price movements in the foreign exchange market to ensure these are not excessive and that these remain consistent with overall price and financial stability objective," he said. Endi

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