Peso fails to gain momentum

The peso on Friday reversed gains made the previous day, shedding 10 centavos to close at 48.44:$1. The peso was still at its weakest level since Sept. 4, 2009’s close of 48.62:$1.

At the Philippine Dealing System, the peso reached an intraday low of 48.45:$1 and a high of 48.24:$1 after opening at 48.32:$1.

The total volume traded dropped to $573.1 million from Thursday’s $719.5 million.

“The US dollar-Philippine peso pair trudged steadily higher on Friday with dealers reinstating long dollar positions ahead of a speech by Janet Yellen and the US economic report on retail sales. Corporate demand also picked up on Friday with importers taking advantage of the recent peso rally … ,” BPI associate economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said. —Ben O. De Vera