Peso continues to appreciate as COVID-19 concerns weigh on dollar

The Philippine peso posted slight gains against the dollar on Wednesday, as the continued climb in coronavirus cases in the United States weighed on the greenback.

The local currency gained a centavo to close at P49.82:$1 versus Tuesday's close of P49.83:$1.

According to Land Bank of the Philippines chief economist Guian Angelo Dumalagan, market optimism in the U.S. was affected by the increase in coronavirus cases.

"The peso gained strength as the dollar continues to weaken amid a spike in US coronavirus cases which dimmed some market optimism of partial economic resumptions in many US states," he said in an email interview.

U.S government's top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci was reported by Reuters to have said that there was no guarantee the United States will have an effective vaccine against the disease, and warned that the pandemic "could get very bad."

Locally, the Philippines on Wednesday reported 999 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 38,511. This includes 1,270 deaths and 10,438 recoveries. —LDF, GMA News