Peso pierces 54:$1

MANILA, Philippines — The peso continued to strengthen yesterday, piercing the 54 to $1 level after gaining 24 centavos to close at a six-month high of 54.87 from Monday’s 55.11.

The local currency opened stronger at an intraday low of 54.95 and hit an intraday high of 54.80 before closing at its strongest level since June 28, 2022 when it closed at 54.77.

Trading volume declined by 12.5 percent to $1.07 billion from $1.22 billion on Monday.

Rep. Joey Salceda, chairman of the ways and means committee at the House of Representatives, praised Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe Medalla for successfully stabilizing the peso after the currency slumped by as much as 15.7 percent to hit an all-time low of 59 to $1 last October.

The peso has bounced back strongly after the BSP acted aggressively by raising interest rates by 350 basis points, bringing the benchmark interest rate to a 14-year high of 5.50 percent, to tame inflation.

Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the peso strengthened together with other Asian currencies ahead of the latest inflation report in the US.

Ricafort said the local currency also strengthened after the government reported the narrowest trade deficit in more than a year or since August 2021.

After depreciating by 9.3 percent to close 2022 at 55.755 from the end-2021 level of 50.999 to $1, Ricafort said the peso has gained 1.6 percent.

According to Ricafort, the major support over the past eight months is at 54.15 to 54.20 levels, while immediate resistance is at 55 to $1.