Peso appreciates as US reconsiders plans of reopening states

The Philippine peso appreciated against the dollar on Monday, as the greenback was weighed down by some states reconsidering reopening plans.

The local currency gained 6.5 centavos to close at P49.855:$1 versus last Friday's finish of P49.942:$1.

According to a foreign exchange trader from a local bank, the dollar was pulled down by concerns on the reopening of the economy.

"Some states have been reconsidering reopening their economies and this pulled down the USD/PHP pair," the trader said in a phone interview.

Several states such as Texas have been looking at pulling back on their reopening plans, given the increase in confirmed coronavirus cases.

"The increase in U.S. COVID-19 infection rates has dented momentum across markets despite the improvements in the global economy, which continues to beat most data expectations," analysts at JPMorgan were quoted as saying in a Reuters report.

Locally, the Philippines has recorded a total of 36,435 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Monday, June 29, 2020. This includes 9,956 recoveries and 1,255 deaths. —LDF, GMA News