THE PESO strengthened a tad against the dollar on Wednesday as the market looked ahead to the release of local inflation data as well as the minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s June meeting.
The local unit ended Wednesday’s session at P53.36 versus the greenback, 1.5 centavos stronger than the P53.375-per-dollar finish tallied the previous day.
The peso opened the session stronger at P53.31 per US currency, rising as high as P53.28 intraday. Its worst showing, on the other hand, stood at P53.42 against the dollar.
Dollars traded climbed to $587.1 million from the $511.5 million tallied on Tuesday.
A trader said the peso moved sideways as it traded within a tight range.
“It traded within the P53.30-P53.40 range more or less with not much movement intraday,” the trader said in a phone interview, adding that the dollar was “stronger” during the session.
“The overall move was still pretty much on the bid side. It’s just that in the last minute, we saw the local unit go from P53.42 to its close,” the trader added.
The trader also noted that investors were waiting for the release of domestic inflation data, which a second trader said was “likely stronger.”
“That’s one of the things the market is watching out for. After that, in the US, the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) minutes and the non-farm payroll data will come out,” the first trader said.
A discussion on how high US interest rates should go in the Federal Reserve’s tightening cycle might be tackled in the minutes of the June 12-13 meeting of the US central bank, Bloomberg reported. US central bankers may also debated the risks posed by the escalating tensions between the US and its key trading partners.
For Thursday, the first trader expects the peso to “move within its typical range” of P53.30 and P53.50 versus the dollar, while the other gave a stronger P53.20-P53.40 range. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal
