Dollar profit-taking buoys Philippine peso

The Philippine peso strengthened against its US counterpart on Wednesday, as market players chose to pocket gains from the recent strength of the dollar.

The local currency gained 2 centavos to close at P52.81:$1 from Tuesday's finish of P52.83:$1.

"Some players trimmed their positions ahead of risk events. The market took profit and I think it's waiting game," a foreign exchange trader from a local bank said in a phone interview.

This comes as the market is awaiting results of the latest policy meetings of both the US Federal Reserve and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is scheduled to meet on March 19 and 20 to discuss whether or not a change in current policy settings is warranted.

At the local front, the Monetary Board of the BSP will meet on Thursday, the first one to be led by Governor Benjamin Diokno since he took over the central bank leadership. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/RSJ, GMA News