MANILA, Philippines -- The peso strengthened further Thursday against the US dollar, benefiting from the generally anemic appetite of investors for the greenback.

The local currency closed at 45.73 to $1, up 17 centavos from the previous day?s 45.9.

Intraday high hit 45.71, while intraday low stood at 45.95. Volume of trade inched up a bit to $1.096 from $1.045 billion previously.

Traders said sentiment for the US dollar was negative following the release of a report by the US Commerce Department saying that orders for durable goods dropped one percent in June from the previous month.

The report fueled fresh doubts about the sustainability of the recovery of the US economy from last year?s recession.

Market players said some investors who have been eagerly looking for places to park their funds would opt for instruments issued in emerging economies, like the Philippines, that have potentials to grow despite threats in the external environment.

Some Asian currencies, like the Korean won and the Malaysian ringgit, however, declined as a result of the negative data on demand by US for durable goods. Traders said an unsustainable recovery of the US economy could drag down overall exports of countries highly dependent on the United States as an export market.

Although the United States account for about 17 percent of export revenues of the Philippines, the latter depends much less on the US economy for its exports than other Asian countries do.