Peso continues appreciation on net foreign buying in local equities

The Philippine peso continued to appreciate against its US counterpart on Monday, driven by net foreign buying in the local equities market.

The local currency gained 8.5 centavos to close at P48.395:$1 versus last Friday's finish of P48.48:$1.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort attributed Monday's appreciation to the recent decrease in COVID-19 cases, and the net foreign buying in the Philippine Stock Exchange.

"The peso exchange rate stronger vs. the US dollar... after lower new COVID-19 local cases recently below the usual 3,000 levels for about a week already and also the continued gains in the local stock market," he said in a mobile message.

The Philippines on Sunday reported 2,223 new confirmed cases of COVID-19

Meanwhile, data from the local stock market showed foreign buying at P25.967 billion and foreign selling of P21.522 billion on Monday, to a net foreign buying of P4.444 billion.

"Peso also stronger in view of higher net buying today at +$91.8 million, the most in nearly four months (or since July 1, 2020) after Friday's +$16.4 million," said Ricafort.

"Peso also stronger after recent fund-raising activities such as the Converge ICT IPO that entailed some foreign investments into the country," he added.

Converge ICT Solutions Inc. also made its market debut on Monday, generating P29 billion from its initial public offering (IPO). The company plans to spend the same amount on its expansion in the next 18 months. — RSJ, GMA News