MANILA — The Philippine peso and the local stock market saw an uptick in performance at the start of November trading.
The peso showed considerable strengthening by closing at 56.1 against the US dollar, marking an improvement from the 56.73 finish on the previous Tuesday.
According to Philippines News Agency, the local currency hit an intraday low of 55.93, a figure last seen nearly three months prior. Ricafort attributed the stronger peso to increased overseas Filipino worker (OFW) remittances for the holiday season and a decrease in global crude oil prices, which potentially lowers the nation's oil import bill and could help reduce the trade deficit.
Trading volume increased significantly, with the day's close seeing USD 1.84 billion in trades compared to USD 860.9 million on the preceding Tuesday. Ricafort projected that the peso's value could range from 56 to 56.20 in the next session.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) recorded an improvement of 15.49 points, ending the week at 5,989.27. All Shares index also rose by 8.88 points, concluding at 3,263.05. Most sectoral indices finished higher, excluding the Financials, which saw a decline. The stock market closed with 106 advancers to 59 decliners, leaving 49 unchanged.