The peso gained P0.10 against the US dollar Friday to close below the 54-per-dollar mark.
The peso closed at 53.97, or ten centavos stronger compared to 54.07 on Sept. 13. Total volume turnover reached $660 million, slightly up from $658 million Thursday.
Prakash Sakpal, ING Bank Asia economist, said in a report the July overseas workers’ remittances and the August balance of payments position were expected to be positive for the local currency.
“Remittances were unusually weak in June this year despite seasonal inflows for school fee payments but we expect some improvement in July helped by the stabilization of the peso,” Sakpal said.
He said a bounce in foreign exchange reserves in August also heralded some improvement in the overall balance of payments in the last month.
“Still, with remittances insufficient to cover the trade deficit on a sustainable basis and the current account in deficit, this isn’t a long-term positive for the Philippine peso,” Sakpal said.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said that current account, one of the main components of the balance of payments, posted a higher deficit of $3.1 billion in the first half, compared to the $133-million shortfall a year ago.