The peso strengthened slightly against the dollar on Wednesday, March 7, as the foreign currency traded weaker overnight on the back of President Donald J. Trump’s rhetoric on slapping trade tariffs.
The local currency ended Wednesday’s session at P51.98 versus the greenback, two centavos stronger than the P52 finish on Tuesday.
The peso opened the session weaker at P52.08 per dollar, while its worst showing was at P52.12. Its best showing, meanwhile, stood at P51.96 against the US currency.
Dollars traded dropped to $692.25 million from the $808 million traded in the previous session.
Traders interviewed said the pair traded quietly as the trading volume thinned, though the local currency traded strong in the morning session.
“We’re still stuck within the range. We tried to trade [stronger] during the morning session following the weak dollar overnight due to Trump’s rhetoric on trade tariffs,” a trader told BusinessWorld in a phone interview.
Last week, Mr. Trump announced he will impose a 25% tariff on steel and 10% tariff on aluminum. The European Union retaliated by slapping tariffs on American-made goods such as Harley-Davidson motorcycles and Kentucky bourbon.
During a visit in the White House on Tuesday, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven expressed concern about the consequences of the tariffs in the long run.
“Swedish prosperity is based on corporation competitiveness and free trade, and I’m convinced that increased tariffs will hurt us all in the long run,” Mr. Löfven said.
In response, Mr. Trump said he will impose the tariffs “in a very loving way.”
Meanwhile, Gary D. Cohn, Mr. Trump’s top economic adviser and the voice of Wall Street to the White House, said he would resign following the president’s plan on imposing tariffs.
In a report from Reuters, the departure of Mr. Cohn will be a big blow in Mr. Trump’s already depleted advisers, leaving amid the growing yet volatile economy.
“The peso moved [lower] at the start due to riskoff. But the market was there to sell. Well, [the peso-dollar] traded fairly quiet,” another trader trader said.
For Thursday, the first trader said the peso is seen to trade between P51.90 and P52.10, while the other trader gave a lower range of P51.95 to P52.15. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal
