THE PESO weakened against the dollar following less dovish remarks from US central bank officials.

The local currency closed Wednesday’s session at P51.50 versus the greenback, 13.5 centavos weaker than the P51.365-per-dollar finish on Tuesday.

The peso opened the session at P51.46 against the dollar. It climbed to as high as P51.45, while its intraday low stood at P51.57 versus the US unit.

Trading volume climbed to $942.71 million from the $771.92 million that changed hands the previous day.

Traders interviewed yesterday said the peso weakened as the dollar recovered against “almost all” currencies following the statements of US Federal Reserve officials.

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard told Bloomberg Television that a 50-basis-point cut in policy rates next month would be “overdone.”

Meanwhile, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the monetary authority is assessing if economic uncertainties require a cut in interest rates.

“I think it’s important not to overreact in the short term to things that happen to be temporary or transient,” Mr. Powell said.

Last week, the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee opted to keep interest rates steady, although Mr. Powell hinted possible rate cuts before yearend.

“The dollar-peso traded in a narrow range. We saw stronger dollar overnight given… the lesser dovish stance of the Fed,” the trader said in a phone interview.

“This was better for the dollar. That’s why we saw the dollar recover slightly against almost all currencies.”

For today, the trader expects the peso to trade between P51.40 and P51.70, while another trader gave a P51.35-P51.65 range.

“The local currency might weaken from likely upbeat May 2019 US durable goods orders report,” the second trader said in an e-mail. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

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