Peso dips as euphoria over Bin Laden’s death wanes

MANILA, Philippines—The peso fell on Tuesday as the positive market reaction manifested the previous day on the death of Osama bin Laden faded and as investors refocused their decision-making on economic factors.

The local currency closed at 42.9 against the US dollar on Tuesday, down by 26.5 centavos from Monday’s finish of 42.635:$1.

Intraday high hit 42.7:$1, while intraday low settled at 42.91:$1. Volume of trade amounted to $991 million from $932.7 million previously.

Traders said investors reacted intensely to news about the death of Osama bin Laden, thus pushing the peso and other Asian currencies up on Monday. However, the euphoria has waned as investors think again of economic factors in deciding what to do with their cash.

The market players said reports about lower-than-expected earnings of some publicly listed Asian countries prompted investors to stay on the sidelines instead of pouring money in Asian securities.

They said, however, that the outlook on the peso and Asian currencies has remained positive, with investors expecting them to generally appreciate this year from last year against the greenback.