Peso inches up amid lack of leads

The peso inched up against the dollar on Tuesday and traded mostly sideways as the market consolidated after the long weekend.

The local unit closed at PHP 58.62 per dollar on Tuesday, rising by three centavos from its PHP 58.65 finish on Friday, Bankers Association of the Philippines data showed.

Philippine financial markets were closed on Monday (June 17) in observance of Eid’l Adha or the Feast of Sacrifice.

The peso opened Tuesday’s session slightly weaker at PHP 58.68 against the dollar. Its worst showing was at PHP 58.73, while its intraday best was at PHP 58.60 versus the greenback.

Dollars exchanged went down to USD 858.53 million on Tuesday from $1.08 billion on Friday.

The peso-dollar pair consolidated following Monday’s trading break and ahead of the release of US data on retail sales overnight, Security Bank Corp. Chief Economist Robert Dan J. Roces said in a Viber message.

“Last Friday, mid-month demand was tempered by inflow hedging ahead of the long weekend,” Mr. Roces said.

The peso was also supported by the continued growth in remittances, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort added in a Viber message.

Cash remittances from overseas Filipino workers coursed through banks rose by 3.1% to USD 2.562 billion in April from $2.485 billion in the same month a year ago, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released on Monday showed.

From January to April, cash remittances rose by 2.8% year on year to USD 10.782 billion from USD 10.487 billion.

The BSP expects cash remittances to grow by 3% this year.

For Wednesday, Mr. Ricafort said the peso could move between PHP 58.55 and PHP 55.75 per dollar. — AMCS