MANILA, July 27 (PNA) — Investors loaded up on their dollars Monday ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting later in the week resulting to the sideways close of the Philippine peso.
The local unit ended the day at Php45.56 from Php45.49 Friday last week.
A trader said the negative finish of the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) Monday, which fell 1.54 percent or 118.08 points to 7,547.44 points after it tracked losses in Wall Street, also contributed to the slight weakening of the peso.
Another factor is the scheduled release of the US’ second quarter output for the year on Thursday, which a trader said is expected to be better than the first quarter’s 0.2 percent contraction, which was due to bad weather condition and spending cuts in the energy sector among others.
For the day, the local unit opened at Php45.52, weaker than the Php45.43 in the previous trading.
It traded between Php45.57 and Php45.51 resulting to an average of Php45.53.
Volume of trade reached US$ 583.7 million, lower than the US$ 644.7 million at the end of last week.
For Tuesday, the currency pair is seen to trade between Php45.40 and Php45.60. (PNA)