THE PESO recovered on Wednesday against the dollar on the back of positive developments in the Brexit negotiations and as remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFW) rose in August.

The local unit ended at P51.595 versus the greenback on Tuesday, stronger by four centavos from its P51.64-to-a-dollar close on Tuesday.

The peso opened the session at P51.66 versus the dollar. Its weakest point for the day was at P51.74, while its intraday high was at P51.56 against the greenback.

Dollars traded on Wednesday dropped to $1.159 billion from $1.366 billion on Tuesday.

“The peso appreciated amid market optimism from positive developments in Brexit negotiations and lingering hopes on a first phase trade agreement between the US and China,” a trader said in an email.

British and European Union officials resumed talks to clinch a Brexit deal on Wednesday just a few hours after late-night negotiations wound up, but it was far from clear they would reach an agreement before a leaders’ summit on Thursday.

Officials involved in the complex divorce between the world’s fifth-largest economy and its biggest trading bloc said differences over the terms of the split from the 27 other member states had narrowed significantly.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told Europe 1 radio on Wednesday that there was a “glimmer of hope” that a Brexit deal could be reached before Britain’s scheduled departure on Oct. 31.

But if an agreement is not ready for the Brussels summit, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will almost certainly have to postpone Britain’s exit again. That would be the third delay since the June 2016 referendum vote to quit the EU.

Meanwhile, UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion attributed the peso’s strength to positive local data.

“The appreciation may have been [from] the positive news from robust remittance growth data. This may mean a stronger consumption growth that will support third quarter GDP (gross domestic product) growth,” Mr. Asuncion said in a text message.

Cash remittances from OFWs grew 4.6% to $2.589 billion in August from $2.476 billion a year ago, and by 0.31% from July’s $2.581 billion, according to data the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas released on Tuesday.

For today, The trader sees the peso moving around P51.50-P51.70 against the dollar, while Mr. Asuncion sees it playing within the P51.30-51.70 range. — L.W.T. Noble with Reuters

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