Peso opens 2020 on soft note vs. US dollar

The Philippine peso opened 2020 on a weak note, as the greenback was buoyed by higher yields in the United States.

The local currency lost 5 centavos to close at P50.685:$1 from the previous close of P50.635 on December 27, the last trading day of 2019.

In a text message, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort said the dollar strength was driven by the climb in US yields which reached five-month highs at 1.94%.

"Steepest US yield curve in more than a year amid higher US government bond / Treasury bond yields also supported the US dollar vs. major global/Asian currencies," he explained.

"Peso also weaker today after the net foreign seeling at the local stock market at -$16.8 million, after the previous trading day's -$16.1 million," added Ricafort.

According to data from the Philippine Stock Exchange, foreign funds bought P1.954 billion of shares during the session and sold P2.806 billion for a net selling position of P852.240 million. —NB, GMA News