The peso weakened on Tuesday as the dollar sat near its three-month low ahead of next week’s US presidential vote.
The local unit closed at P58.275 per dollar on Tuesday, down five cents from its close of P58.225 on Monday, Bankers Association of the Philippines data said.
The peso opened Tuesday’s session stronger at P58.20 against the dollar. Its intraday best was P58.13, while its worst performance was P58.335 against the greenback.
Dollars traded fell to $1.17 billion on Tuesday from $1.33 billion on Monday.
The peso was weakened by a stronger dollar as markets await the US presidential election on November 5, said an economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Michael L. Ricafort in a Viber message.
“The dollar-peso traded at a firmer rate as players were cautious ahead of the release of US gross domestic product and jobs data this week,” a trader said in a telephone interview.
On Wednesday, the trader sees the peso moving between P58 and P58.50 per dollar, while Mr. Ricafort expects it to go from P58.15 to P58.35.
On Tuesday, the dollar is not far from a three-month high with one of the Federal Reserve’s preferred employment measures – the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey or the JOLTS job opening report – due on Tuesday, ahead of the highly anticipated monthly nonfarm data on Friday, Reuters reported.
The dollar was little changed against a basket of six major peers, including the yen and the euro. The dollar index stood at 104.29, after reaching 104.57 overnight, matching the high since Wednesday of last week, a level not seen since July 30.
Recent strong US economic data, including evidence of a firmer jobs market, has seen bets reversed for a rate cut this year by the Federal Reserve, boosting the dollar.
The dollar fell 0.23% to 152.92 yen, but that followed its highest rally since July 31 at 153.885 yen on Monday. – Aaron Michael C. Sy with Reuters
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