Weak US housing data buoys peso

The peso remained strong against the greenback for the third straight session on Thursday as the dollar traded on a weak note following a report on US housing, GMA News.

The local currency gained 6 centavos to close at P48.100:$1 from 48.160 on Wednesday.

"The peso appreciated today due to weak US housing starts," Guian Angelo Dumalagan, market economist at the Land Bank of the Philippines, told GMA News Online.

Housing starts or the number of new houses constructed in September reflected an annual rate of 1,047,000, down 9 percent, according to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Dumalagan noted there was optimism as well over the Philippines' solid macroeconomic fundamentals.