Peso expected to weaken on possible Fed hawkish stance

The peso is seen to weaken against the dollar for the rest of the week as investors expect the minutes of the latest meeting of the US Federal Reserve to support further monetary policy tightening.
The local currency ended the session on Monday at P53.38 versus the greenback, 4.5 centavos stronger than the P53.425-per-dollar finish on Friday.
Land Bank of the Philippines market economist Guian Angelo S. Dumalagan said the peso might lose some of its gains as markets resume trading on Wednesday due to the possible hawkish stance of the Fed.
“The dollar’s uptrend might continue until Thursday, as the minutes of the latest US monetary policy meeting may once again affirm views of more US rate hikes this year,” Mr. Dumalagan said in an e-mail. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal