Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 7) — The Philippine peso continued its streak and surged to its highest against the dollar in more than four and half years.
The currency finished at ₱47.855 at the close of trade on Friday against the greenback, its strongest since its ₱47.83 trading close on Sept. 22, 2016.
“It’s hard not to see that the robust export growth and improving import performance in March further strengthened the PHP today,” UnionBank chief economist Ruben Carlo Asuncion told CNN Philippines.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority published Friday showed exports reached $6.68 billion in March, 31.6% higher than the $5.08 billion year-on-year. The figure also bested February’s $5.35 billion.
Imported goods, meanwhile, logged a total value of $9.1 billion — a 16.6% jump from the $7.8 billion in March last year. This positive growth rate comes “after registering a downward trend from May 2019 to January 2021,” noted the PSA.
These figures brought the trade deficit for the month to $2.41 billion, down by 11.5% from the $2.72 billion in March 2020.
Aside from improving external trade, RCBC chief economist Michael Ricafort also noted the “gauge of the US dollar vs. major currencies recently lingered among two-month lows” which lent the local currency some support as well.
“Upcoming fund-raising activities by the government and by some of the largest countries could entail some foreign buyers/investors, thereby resulting to more inflows of US dollars/foreign currency,” added Ricafort, noting these will add to the balance of payments and gross international reserves.
Economic managers expect the peso to settle at ₱48 to ₱53 against the dollar this year.
