Peso closes flat vs. dollar

The Philippine peso barely moved against its US counterpart on Wednesday, as investors await the monetary policy meeting of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) later this week.

The local currency lost 0.3 centavos to close at P48.066:$1 versus Tuesday's finish of P48.063:$1.

"The USD/PHP was range-bound which was expected ahead of the policy meeting," a foreign exchange trader from a local bank said in a phone interview.

The Monetary Board of the BSP is scheduled to meet on Thursday, December 17 -- its last for the year -- to discuss whether or not current conditions warrant a change in monetary policy.

The central bank has so far reduced policy rates by 200 basis points this year -- 25 basis points in February, 50 basis points each in March, April, and June, and another 25 basis points in November.

The US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is also scheduled to meet on December 15 and 16 to discuss monetary policy. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/RSJ, GMA News