Peso seen range-bound amid thin trading volume

THE PESO is expected to move sideways against the dollar this shortened trading week as market activity is likely to be sluggish amid the holidays and the lack of fresh leads.

On Friday, the local unit gained by 14 centavos to close at P58.71 per dollar from its P58.85 finish on Tuesday, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.

Week on week, the peso slipped by a centavo from its P58.70 close versus the greenback on Dec. 19.

Remittance inflows likely helped lift the peso on Friday, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

“The US dollar-peso exchange rate corrected slightly lower… in view of the upcoming series of holidays until new year, when there could still be some residual seasonal increase in OFW (overseas Filipino worker) remittances and conversion to pesos to finance Yuletide- and New Year-related holiday spending,” he said.

Philippine financial markets will be closed on Dec. 30 and 31 and Jan. 1 for Rizal Day and the New Year holidays. Trading will resume on Friday (Jan. 2).

The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six rivals, rose 0.08% to 98.03 on Friday, Reuters reported. The Japanese yen softened against the dollar as investors remained on watch for potential intervention to shore up the currency.

“There’s no major catalyst and then it’s yearend, so market activity is thin,” a trader said in a phone interview, adding that this consolidation will likely continue this week as there are only two trading days.

For Monday, the last trading day of 2025, Mr. Ricafort said the local unit could move between P58.55 and P58.85.

For the whole week, he expects the peso to trade between P58.50 and P58.95, while the trader said the peso could range from P58.50 to P59 against the greenback. — Katherine K. Chan