THE PESO went down against the dollar on Tuesday due to lack of fresh leads and demand for the safe-haven greenback amid rising geopolitical tensions offshore.

The local currency ended Tuesday’s session at P51.11 versus the greenback, down by three centavos from its P51.08-per-dollar finish last Friday.

The peso opened at its intraday peak of P51.08 to the dollar while its worst showing for the day was seen at P51.23 versus the foreign currency. Dollars traded declined to $548.9 million on Tuesday from the $590.2 million that changed hands in the previous session.

One trader attributed the peso’s slight decline against the greenback to a quiet trading session due to lack of major domestic and offshore catalysts.

“Basically, nothing much happened since trading was really quiet and it was just a normal session, as it was seen in currencies around the world,” the trader said.

“The peso slightly went down because of demand. We saw oil companies buying the dollar,” the trader added.

Meanwhile, the trader also noted they are on the lookout for political tensions between North Korea and Japan.

“The dollar was also slightly higher due to the geopolitical noise in North Korea, which we are monitoring,” the trader said.

Meanwhile, another trader said on Tuesday: “The peso depreciated slightly today, as the safer dollar became more attractive due to the firing of a North Korean missile over Japan.”

Most emerging Asian currencies also slipped on Tuesday after North Korea fired a missile over northern Japan, fuelling worries of fresh tension between Washington and Pyongyang.

For today, one trader sees the peso at P51.05 to P51.25 versus the dollar, while the other trader said the exchange rate may settle within P51 to P51.20.

“There might be sideways movement due to lack of major drivers and caution ahead of key US labor reports,” one trader noted. — Janine Marie D. Soliman

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