Peso climbs to one-month high
THE PESO climbed to an over one-month high against the dollar on Thursday amid dovish signals from the US Federal Reserve.
The local unit closed at P55.705 per dollar on Thursday, strengthening by 23.5 centavos from its P55.94 finish on Wednesday, Bankers Association of the Philippines data showed.
This was the peso’s strongest close in more than one month or since its P55.69-per-dollar finish on Jan. 8.
The peso opened Thursday’s session slightly weaker at P55.95 against the dollar. Its worst showing was at P55.98, while its intraday best was at P55.70 versus the greenback.
Dollars exchanged inched down to $1.24 billion on Thursday from $1.29 billion on Wednesday.
“The dollar was generally weaker across the board as minutes of the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting came in largely as expected. Policy makers remained cautious about cutting interest rates too soon. Markets have broadly pushed back expectations to a June rate cut for the Fed,” Union Bank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said in a Viber message.
The dollar index went down by 0.15% to 103.81 on Thursday.
Meanwhile, flows related to the government’s retail Treasury bond offer that ends on Friday also affected peso-dollar trading, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.
For Friday, Mr. Ricafort sees the peso ranging from P55.60 to P56.80 per dollar, while Mr. Asuncion expects it to move between P55.50 and P56. — A.M.C. Sy