THE PESO climbed as the US delayed planned hikes on tariffs on Chinese goods. — BW FILE PHOTO

THE PESO regained strength against the dollar on the back of market optimism from positive developments in US-China trade relations.

The local unit closed at P51.93 against the greenback on Thursday, appreciating by 22 centavos from its P52.15-to-a-dollar finish on Wednesday.

The peso opened at P52.06 versus the greenback. It traded in a tight range, with its weakest point recorded at P52.09, while its intraday best was at P51.91 against the greenback.

Dollars traded on Thursday dropped to $1.17 billion versus the $1.436 billion recorded on Wednesday.

“The peso appreciated from market optimism after China granted tariff exemptions on some US goods and the US delayed its scheduled tariff hikes on Chinese goods to October 15, 2019,” one trader said.

This was echoed by another trader, who believes the development will “bring relief to emerging market currencies as well as the equity market.

Reuters reported US President Donald J. Trump agreed to postpone raising tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports from Oct. 1 to Oct. 15 “as a gesture of good will.”

The peso is expected to weaken anew today following the European Central Bank’s meeting and the release of US inflation data.

The first trader sees the peso moving within the P51.90-P52.10 band against the dollar. — LWTN

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