THE PESO moved sideways on Thursday following the release of minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s July meeting and as markets stayed on the sidelines ahead of the US central bank chief’s Jackson Hole speech.

The local unit closed at P52.255 against the greenback, rising by 3.5 centavos from Tuesday’s P52.29-to-a-dollar finish.

The peso opened trading stronger at P52.25 per dollar. Its strongest showing was seen at P52.17, while its lowest point was at P52.32 versus the greenback.

Volume of dollars traded grew to $1.266 billion on Thursday from $1.129 billion last Tuesday.

Local financial markets were closed on Wednesday in observance of Ninoy Aquino Day.

“The peso moved sideways [on Thursday] as market players opted to wait on the sidelines ahead of the Jackson Hole meeting [today], where US Fed chief Jerome Powell will deliver his speech,” a trader said via phone.

“The peso strengthened today after the Fed minutes disclosed the US policy makers’ discussion over a stronger 50-basis-point policy rate cut during their July meeting,” another trader said in an e-mail on Thursday.

Federal Reserve policy makers were deeply divided over whether to cut interest rates last month but were united in wanting to signal they were not on a preset path to more cuts, a message not likely to sit well with US President Donald Trump.

Minutes from the two-day meeting released on Wednesday showed policy makers’ ultimate decision to lower the central bank’s benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point drew more opposition than was reflected in the rate-setting panel’s 8-2 vote, announced after the meeting adjourned on July 31.

The depth of the debate raises the stakes for the signal that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is set to deliver on Friday at the Fed’s annual policy retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

For today, the second trader said: “The local currency might appreciate further ahead of likely weaker US manufacturing and services reports overnight.”

The first trader expects the peso to trade within the P52.22-to-P52.50 range today, while other sees local unit moving from P52.15 to P52.35. — Mark T. Amoguis with Reuters

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