Peso strengthens as market on wait-and-see mode on global uncertainty

The Philippine peso strengthened against the US dollar on Thursday, as the market was on a wait-and-see mode given uncertainty in the global economy.

The local currency gained 3 centavos to close at P52.50:$1 versus Wednesday's P52.53:$1.

"The market was on a wait-and-see mode given uncertainty on trade talks and concerns with Huawei," a foreign exchange trader said in a phone interview.

Fears that that tariffs and other retaliatory actions by the United States and China could hamper global growth, Reuters said in a report.

"Business between the US and China is not going to be what it was two months ago," Jim Awad, senior managing director at Clearstead Advisors in New York, was quoted as saying in the report. —LDF, GMA News