Peso firms up as NoKor bomb test keeps dollar weak

The Philippine peso appreciated further against its US counterpart on Tuesday as the recent hydrogen bomb test of North Korea dragged the greenback.

The local currency firmed up by 2.5 centavos to P51.140:$1 from 51.165 at the close of trading on Monday.

"The dollar was at its weakest in more than a week. This was after the NoKor's recent detonation of a hydrogen bomb rocked the markets," Union Bank of the Philippines chief economist Ruben Carlo Asuncion told GMA News Online.

A foreign exchange trader from a local bank said the focus on recent tensions in the Korean peninsula weakened dollar against major and emerging market currencies.

According to a report by Reuters, the dollar fell after North Korea's most powerful nuclear test dampened investor appetite for risk.

"It's also a continuation from the below market expectations US employment data," the trader said.

The US last week announced it created 156,000 new jobs in August, down from 189,000 in July. — VDS, GMA News