THE PESO moved sideways against the dollar on Monday amid upbeat sentiment on US tax cuts.

The local currency closed the session at P50.48 versus the greenback yesterday, sliding 3.5 centavos from Friday’s P50.445-per-dollar finish.

The peso opened the session  slightly stronger at P50.43 versus the greenback, while its intraday low was at P50.51. Its best showing yesterday, meanwhile, stood at P50.35 against the dollar.

Dollars traded amounted to $467.15 million yesterday, up from $447.3 million seen during the last trading session.

While traders noted that yesterday’s trading was “pretty quiet,” two said the local currency slightly descended against the dollar as Republican senators and congressmen are expected to ratify the US tax reform bill later this week.

“Basically, [we saw] slightly stronger dollar, but it was just basic trading. [However, the trading focused] more on the strong dollar side brought by the US tax reform, which will likely be passed by the Congress,” a trader said over the phone yesterday, noting that this “gave some strength to the dollar.”

Another trader shared the same sentiment, saying on Monday: “The peso depreciated today amid reports of possible ratification by the US bicameral committee of the Republican tax reform bill at least by Tuesday (American time).”

Top US Republicans said on Sunday they expected Congress to pass a tax code overhaul this week, with a Senate vote as early as Tuesday and President Donald Trump aiming to sign the bill by week’s end.

If passed, the bill would be the biggest US tax rewrite since 1986 and provide Republican lawmakers and President Donald J. Trump with their first major legislative victory since they took control of the White House in January in addition to Congress

A trader however said that upbeat sentiment on the US tax plan didn’t affect the dollar-peso trading that much.

“[Yesterday’s trading was the] same as the last few sessions — it’s been pretty quiet. The range has held so far and today is no different,” the third trader said over the phone on Monday.

For today, the first trader sees the peso moving from P50.40 to P50.65 versus the dollar, while the other trader expects a slightly slimmer P50.40-P50.60 range. The third trader said the exchange rate may settle within P50.30 to P50.55.

“The peso is still seen to depreciate ahead of anticipated better US GDP (gross domestic product) growth data and personal consumption expenditure inflation,” the second trader noted. — K.A.N. Vidal with Reuters

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