THE PESO declined to a fresh one-month low against the dollar on Monday as it breached the P53 level intraday due to risk-off sentiment over economic concerns abroad.
The local unit ended the session at P52.98 versus the greenback yesterday, 10 centavos weaker than the P52.88-per-dollar finish last Friday.
The peso traded weaker the whole day, opening the session at P53.05 against the greenback. It reached an intraday low of P53.08, while its best showing was at P52.95 versus the dollar.
Trading volume rose to $685.95 million from $677.75 million last Friday.
Two traders attributed the continued weakness of the peso to safe-haven demand for the dollar propelled by political and economic concerns offshore such as weak China data, with one saying the local unit slid as it “mimicked” the dollar’s strength before the weekend.
China’s November industrial production grew 5.4% from a year ago. In addition to this, retail sales rose 8.1% last month, also below the 8.8% expected.
“The local currency depreciated further on safe-haven demand for the greenback as weaker economic data from China and downward growth outlook from the European Central Bank last week heightened fears of a near-term global growth slowdown next year,” one trader said.
For today, the first trader expects the peso to trade between P52.85 and P53.05, while the other gave a P52.90-P53.10 range. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

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