Peso goes up on demand
THE PESO strengthened slightly against the dollar on Monday due to demand for the peso ahead of US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell鈥檚 testimony.
The local unit closed yesterday鈥檚 session at P51.86 against the greenback, three centavos stronger than its P51.89-per-dollar close on Friday.
The peso traded stronger the whole day, opening the session at P51.80 versus the dollar. Its worst showing stood at P51.88, while yesterday鈥檚 intraday high was at P51.75 against the greenback.
Dollars traded on Monday dropped to $516 million from the $656.3 million booked the previous session.
鈥淭he peso strengthened today amid profit-taking from the strong dollar last week,鈥 a trader said on Monday.
Meanwhile, another trader attributed the peso鈥檚 strength on demand for the currency within the trading session.
鈥淚 think there鈥檚 some demand. I鈥檓 not sure what industry, probably oil or energy. That鈥檚 why the dollar-peso is supported,鈥 the trader said.
A third trader said the pair traded within the range as market players are waiting for more cues to spark movement. 鈥淔or this week, not only for [Tuesday], the market will be watching for [Jerome H.] Powell鈥檚 testimony and his views regarding several issues.鈥
Mr. Powell, who took office in February after Janet L. Yellen stepped down, will testify before the US Congress to discuss the economy and, possibly, the Fed鈥檚 future policy path.
鈥淚 think the market will focus on Powell鈥檚 take on recent developments, his outlook on growth and inflation and the Fed鈥檚 moves regarding the number of hikes this year,鈥 the third trader said.
For today, the second trader expects the peso to move between P51.75 and P52, while the first trader gave a slightly wider range of P51.75 and P52.05. The third trader sees the currency trading between P51.65 and P52.05 versus the dollar. — K.A.N. Vidal
