Peso marks 4-year high as market cheers Biden victory, awaits Q3 GDP data

The Philippine peso appreciated against the greenback for the fourth consecutive session on Monday to mark its best showing in over four years, following the victory of Joseph BidenJr. as the next US president.

The local currency gained 7.5 centavos to close at P48.145:$1 versus last Friday's finish of P48.22:$1. This is the best performance of the peso against the dollar since closing at P48.10:$1 on October 20, 2016.

Monday's appreciation came after Democrat Joseph Biden Jr. appeared to have secured the White House over the weekend after his victory in the battleground state of Pennsylvania put him over the threshold of 270 electoral college votes needed to claim the presidency.

"Biden victory as next US President seen as generally favorable to Asia such as the Philippines, with the expected easing of the US-China trade war," Michael Ricafort, chief economist at the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said in a mobile message.

President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo earlier congratulated the incoming US president.

Ricafort said the results of the latest polls led to hefty gains in the local and global stock markets, resulting in a weaker US dollar versus major global currencies which fell to two-month lows.

"Peso also stronger a day ahead of the latest 3Q 2020 GDP data, which is expected to improve from the record contraction of -16.9% year-on-year in 2Q 2020 as revised," said Ricafort.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is scheduled to report third-quarter economic figures on Tuesday, November 10, with economists projecting an improvement from the record-low performance registered in the second quarter. — RSJ, GMA News