THE PESO appreciated versus the greenback on Thursday as local stocks rebounded and as players booked their gains.
The local unit closed at P50.135 per dollar yesterday, gaining 21.5 centavos from its P50.35 finish on Wednesday, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.
The peso opened Thursday’s session at P50.25 versus the dollar. Its weakest showing was at P50.32, while its intraday best was at P50.11 against the greenback.
Dollars traded declined to $948.95 million on Thursday from $1.007 billion on Wednesday.
The peso climbed as the stock market rebounded after days of decline, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 100.41 points or 1.55% to close at 6,576.62 on Thursday, while the all shares index went up by 43.94 points or 1.09% to finish at 4,074.94.
Meanwhile, a trader attributed the peso’s strength to “profit-taking by market participants from the recent strength of the greenback”.
For today, Mr. Ricafort gave a forecast range of P50 to P50.20 versus the dollar, while the trader expects the local unit to move within P50 to P50.30. — LWTN