Peso ends week at P57.26 vs dollar

THE peso appreciated to P57.26 against the US dollar on Friday, gaining 10 centavos to close the trading week on a positive note.

Trading opened at P57.44 and ranged from P57.23 to P57.45. Volume reached $650.18 million, down from Thursday’s $661.88 million.

Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the peso strengthened “after the highest balance of payments (BoP) surplus data in seven months.”

The country’s BoP position hit a surplus of $711 million in October, trimming the year-to-date deficit to $7.1 billion, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Friday.

“The peso exchange rate also eased amid the continued gain in the local stock market, PSEi (Philippine Stock Exchange index), for the second straight day ... by 33.64 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 6,437.38,” Ricafort also said.