Peso weakens on US-China trade tensions
THE PESO declined against the dollar on Monday as the market is still concerned over trade tensions between the United States and China. The local unit ended yesterday’s session at P53.44 against the greenback, 16 centavos lower than its P53.28-per-dollar finish last Friday. The peso opened weaker at P53.35 against the dollar. It slipped to an intraday low of P53.46, while its best showing stood at P53.32 versus the US currency. Dollars traded declined to $ 449.2 million yesterday from the $ 921.5 million traded on Friday.
THE PESO declined against the dollar on Monday as the market is still concerned over trade tensions between the United States and China.
The local unit ended yesterday’s session at P53.44 against the greenback, 16 centavos lower than its P53.28-per-dollar finish last Friday.
The peso opened weaker at P53.35 against the dollar. It slipped to an intraday low of P53.46, while its best showing stood at P53.32 versus the US currency.
Dollars traded declined to $ 449.2 million yesterday from the $ 921.5 million traded on Friday.
A trader said on Monday the dollar-peso moved weaker as the pair tracked the movement of the greenback against its regional peers.
“Actually it’s a dollar move where I think it moved as we continue to see safe-haven trading,” the trader said in a phone interview.
Reuters reported that the greenback fell to a two-week low against the yen as renewed global trade concerns dented investor risk appetites. The greenback was down 0.4% at 109.45 yen versus the dollar, its weakest since June 11.
“This weakness is a continuation from last week,” the trader said in an e-mail. “This centers around increasing trade tensions between the US and China.”
Meanwhile, another trader said trading in local currency was “fairly quiet” on Monday. “There’s nothing to go on, so it traded within the range on Monday,” he said.
For Tuesday, the first trader said the peso will move between P53.20 and P53.50, while the second trader gave a slightly tighter range of P53.20-P53.50.
“The local currency might further weaken [on Tuesday] ahead of likely upbeat US new home sales data tonight,” a third trader noted, expecting the pair to trade within the P53.30-P53.60 range. •