By Joann Santiago
MANILA, Sept 9 (PNA) — Investors’ anticipation for a non-event when Philippine monetary officials decide on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) key rates Thursday this week is among the reasons for the weakening of both the local bourse and the peso.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) contracted by 0.84 percent or 61.27 points to end Tuesday at 7,253.67 points.
A trader said the slide in Wall Street also made investor take profit and protect the gains they registered in the past days.
All the sectoral counters followed the main index led by the property, which fell 2.31 percent or 64.87 points to 2,746.70 points.
Trading, however, remained strong after reaching 1.56 billion amounting to USD 8.63 billion.
Losers led gainers at 117 to 62 while 47 were unchanged.
Relatively, the peso shed Php 0.17 after it ended the day at 43.71 from the previous trading’s 43.54.
The local currency started the day at 43.70, weaker than the 43.60 a day ago.
It traded between 43.76 and 43.66 resulting to an average of 43.71.
Volume of trade surged to USD 1.05 billion from USD 546.5 million a day ago.
A trader said the local unit moved in line with regional currencies.
Another factor is the meeting of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) policy-making Monetary Board (MB) this week.
The trader said the Board is not expected to adjust the central bank’s key rates but some analysts expect the MB to either tighten the key rates further or implement another macroprudential measure.
To date, the BSP’s overnight borrowing or reverse repurchase (RRP) rate is at 3.75 percen and the overnight lending or repurchase (RP) rate is at5.75 percent.
These were hiked by 25 basis points during the Board’s policy meeting last July to keep inflation rate for 2015 within target.
Aside from the increase in the key rates, the Board has increased this year interest rate of the central bank’s special deposit account (SDA) facility by 25 basis points to 2.25 percent as well as banks’ reserve requirements by a total of 200 basis points. (PNA)