Peso rises on news of Germany, France pledge to solve Euro debt crisis

MANILA, Philippines—The peso inched up on the first trading day of the week as Germany and France committed to come up with a stimulus plan to address the crisis in the eurozone.

The local currency closed at its intraday high of 43.115 against the US dollar on Monday, up by 24 centavos from Friday’s finish of 43.355:$1.

Intraday low settled at 43.255:$1. Volume of trade amounted to $825.65 million from $939.72 million previously.

Traders said the appreciation of the peso and other Asian currencies on Monday against the greenback came after the G20 meeting in Paris over the weekend. In the meeting, policymakers highlighted the need to come up with a firm plan to solve the crisis in the eurozone before the spillover to other regions becomes more pronounced.

In the meeting, France and Germany vowed to come up with a stimulus plan that would keep the banking sectors in the region, particularly those with exposure to debt-ridden Greece, from collapsing.

Traders said the events over the weekend somewhat lifted sentiments of foreign fund owners, who were encouraged to take more risks by investing in assets in emerging markets like the Philippines.

A solution to the debt crisis in the eurozone is expected to improve growth prospects for the global economy and to benefit even emerging economies.

The European zone is one of the major export markets for emerging economies like the Philippines.