Peso edges up before key US data
THE PESO inched higher against the dollar on Monday as market players preferred to stay on the sidelines before the release of key US economic data and as they await details on the Trump administration’s planned reciprocal tariffs.
The local unit closed at P57.32 per dollar on Monday, edging up by a centavo from its P57.33 finish on Friday, Bankers Association of the Philippines data showed.
The peso opened Monday’s session stronger at P57.30 against the dollar. Its worst showing was at P57.39, while its intraday best was at P57.285 versus the greenback.
Dollars exchanged went down to $1.098 billion from $1.37 billion on Friday.
“The dollar-peso closed almost flat as the market traded cautiously amid lingering geopolitical turmoil and while waiting for more data to provide more directional guidance,” a trader said in a phone interview.
US economic data to be released this week include the manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, the third and final estimate for fourth-quarter gross domestic product, as well as the February personal consumption expenditures price index report.
The dollar mostly moved sideways as markets digested recent comments from US Federal Reserve officials and amid uncertainty over US President Donald J. Trump’s policies.
For Tuesday, the trader expects the peso to move between P57.10 and P57.40 per dollar, while Mr. Ricafort sees it ranging from P57.20 to P57.40.
New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said on Friday the US central bank’s monetary policy is in the right place given the myriad of uncertainties facing the economy, noting that there’s no urgency to make any changes to interest rates, Reuters reported.
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee echoed Williams’ monetary policy caution, telling CNBC on Friday that uncertainty argued for the Fed standing aside until more clarity emerged. Mr. Goolsbee said the economy was strong and that he’s waiting to see how President Donald J. Trump’s tariffs, which many economists expect to worsen a challenging inflation situation, play out.
Mr. Williams and Mr. Goolsbee weighed in two days after Fed policy makers left the central bank’s benchmark interest rate in the 4.25%-4.5% range and signaled they still expect to lower it at some point later this year.
At the same time, Fed officials acknowledged considerable uncertainty about the outlook amid the Trump administration’s dramatic and often chaotic policy changes, which they expect to help drive up inflation pressures, at least in the short term. — A.M.C. Sy with Reuters
