Peso up as jitters over Euro debt calm down

MANILA, Philippines—The peso strengthened further on Thursday as traders said investors had relatively calmed down from the jitters over the debt situation in Europe.

The local currency closed at 43.17 against the US dollar on Thursday, up by 6 centavos from the previous day’s finish of 43.23:$1.

Intraday high reached 43.09:$1, while intraday low settled at 43.22:$1. Volume of trade increased to $865.18 million from $581 million the previous day.

Traders said that investors manifested a generally positive outlook on Asian economies, shifting some of their dollar-denominated assets into those denominated in Asian currencies, including the peso.

Despite the potentially adverse impact of the lingering debt woes in some countries within the European Union, led by Greece, traders said, investors took note of the projections that Asian countries would perform well this year and lead growth of the global economy.

Concerns over the debt situation of Greece and the EU in general previously led to a decline in value of major Asian currencies, as developing Asian economies are believed to be dragged down somewhat should the global economy be affected by the crisis in the West.