Peso firms up for 4th straight day

The Philippine peso extended its winning streak against the US dollar for the fourth straight session on Friday, as dovish Federal Reserve statement signaling more rate cuts weighed on the greenback.

The local currency gained 7.5 centavos to close at P51.7:$1 from Thursday’s finish at 51.645.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. lead economist Michael Ricafort said the more dovish Fed signals of possible rate cuts in 2019 caused a weaker US dollar against major global currencies.

According to a report by Reuters, the US Federal Reserve in its recent Fed meeting held interest rates steady, but hinted that rate cuts of as much as half a percentage point could be possible over the remainder of 2019.

The recent sharp declines in US benchmark bond yields with the 10-year yield at new 21-month lows also caused the greenback to weaken, Ricafort said.

Week-on-week, the local unit gained 45 centavos from P52.02:$1 on June 14. The peso was weaker by P1.76 from 49.810 on Jan. 3, the first trading day of 2018. —VDS, GMA News