THE PESO ended stronger against the dollar yesterday amid weak expectations for US consumer price index (CPI) data due for release last night.

The local currency closed at P51.04 against the greenback, gaining 14 centavos from its P51.18 finish on Tuesday.

This is also the peso’s best close in over a month or since Oct. 5’s P51.01.

The peso opened weaker at P51.20 versus the dollar. It as low as P51.23, while its intraday high was at P51.02 against the greenback.

Dollars traded yesterday were valued at $566.8 million, up from Tuesday’s $476.78 million.

Traders interviewed said the peso climbed in line with other major Asian currencies as the dollar traded weak overnight.

“The weakened dollar is persistent across the board against major Asian currencies. We also [saw] offshore prices break down, prompting more selling in the onshore spot market as well,” the trader said over the phone.

Meanwhile, market players were also waiting for data on October US CPI and retail sales.

“The market players might be shying away from the dollar in anticipation of CPI data [yesterday],” the trader added.

Analysts see the CPI data as one of the key reports the US Federal Reserve looks at when deciding on monetary policy.

Investors were also looking ahead to the Philippines’ third-quarter gross domestic product growth to be released today.

Analysts expect the country’s overall economic growth to have stayed above 6% last quarter on the back of strong domestic demand and recovering merchandise exports, results of a BusinessWorld poll showed.

A poll of 11 economists and analysts late last week yielded a median GDP growth estimate of 6.6% for the third quarter, edging up from the second quarter’s 6.5% and January-March’s 6.4%, but slower than the 7.1% recorded a year ago.

If realized, the figure would put the nine-month growth average at 6.5%, hitting the low-end of the government’s 6.5-7.5% target for the year. Philippine economic growth averaged 6.45% last semester.

Meanwhile, for UnionBank of the Philippines chief economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, the “positive perception about the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit” was also at play yesterday, which boosted the peso.

Traders said the peso might retest the P50-per-dollar level today, expecting a trading range of P50.80 to P51.30.

Most Asian currencies firmed against the dollar on Wednesday after the euro’s gains on upbeat German economic data weakened the greenback. The euro strengthened to 2-1/2 week highs as Germany’s seasonally adjusted gross domestic product rose by 0.8% on the quarter.

The dollar index that tracks the US currency against six major peers was at 93.812, its lowest level since late October and well below its overnight high of 94.542. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal with Reuters

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