Peso strengthens back to P56:$1 level, snaps 5-day record-lows trend

After five straight days of sinking to record lows against the US dollar, the Philippine peso rebounded on Friday and returned to P56:$1 level as the greenback downwardly corrected against major global currencies.

The local currency gained 36 centavos to close at P56.82:$1 from Thursday’s finish of P57.18:$1, its fifth consecutive trading day of plunging to all-time lows.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort described the local unit’s strengthening as a “healthy correction” after “healthy downward correction of the US dollar versus major global currencies recently, as well as some measures by some Asian central banks to stabilize their respective local currencies after the recent increase in the US dollar amid hawkish signals from the Fed and the European Central Bank.”

Ricafort said the peso’s Friday close is the strongest for the week.

Likewise, Security Bank chief economist Robert Dan Roces said the local currency’s rebound was due to “some end of the week positioning, as well as slight weakness of the US dollar.”

Ricafort added that the peso also strengthened against the US dollar as global crude oil prices lingered among the lowest levels in seven to eight months recently, “thereby could also help reduce the country’s oil imports, narrow the record trade deficit, as well as ease inflationary pressures/headline inflation, going forward.”

Since the start of 2022, the peso depreciated against the US dollar by  P5.821 or 11.4% from P50.999:$1 in end-2021.—AOL, GMA News