Philippine peso stronger at P47.20:$1

MANILA, Philippines - The peso ended the week at a stronger P47.20 per dollar, with analysts saying there was less negative news on the economy. It closed 17 centavos stronger than the previous day’s exchange rate of P47.37:$1. "For this week, the market was not as negative," a trader said. But another trader said the stability of the peso was still in question, saying: "The movement of our currency will mainly depend on the news that will come out from the local market and as well as news from the US." "For today, the news on a fresh US capital injection into Bank of America helped our currency surge along with other Asian currencies," he added. Regional currencies rebounded in this week’s trading, notably the Korean won and Indonesian rupiah Traders are expecting the exchange rate to hit P47.80:$1 next week. "[Our bias is still] on a slight appreciation of the peso for the coming days," a trader said, noting that the 10.5% year-on-year growth of overseas worker remittances continues to provide foreign exchange liquidity amid economic uncertainties. The peso on Friday opened at P47.18:$1, reached an intraday high of P47.09, and a low of P47.28. Total volume of transacted dollars at the Philippine Dealing System was thinner by $45 million at $583 million, from Thursday’s total transaction amounting to $628 million. — Daniel Anne B. Nepomuceno, BusinessWorld