MANILA, Philippines -- The peso gained 29 centavos on Wednesday to wipe out the previous day's losses, benefiting from a shift in market sentiment from cautious to positive as neighboring Asian economies report favorable fundamentals.

The local currency closed at 45.08 against the US dollar on Wednesday from 45.37 the previous day.

Intraday high stood at 45.07:$1, while intraday low hit 45.3. Volume of trade inched up to $923.84 million from $663.11 million previously.

Traders said the improvement of the peso mirrored the gains of other Asian currencies, which were viewed favorably by foreign investors amid signs the Asian region could indeed weather any hindrances to the global economic recovery.

Market players cited reports about a sharp increase in the exports of Korea, and the increase in manufacturing output of China and Thailand in August.

They said the date reaffirmed earlier expectations that the Asian region would perform well even if the United States and industrialized markets in Europe showed sluggish recovery from the 2009 global recession.

Economists said the growth of Asian exporters, like the Philippines, would be sustained if demand from neighbors grew. The rising demand from China and other Asian countries would offset a potentially anemic demand for goods and services from the United States and other usual clients in the West, they said.

Meanwhile, they added, the robust growth of the Philippines in the first half at 7.9 percent reinforced the target of the country's economic managers for an annual growth rate starting this year that would be stronger than the previous year's average of only between 4 to 5 percent.