Peso rises on good news of China’s economic growth

MANILA, Philippines—The peso rose by 26 centavos on Tuesday, mirroring the movement of other key Asian currencies, as the better-than-expected growth of China lifted outlook on emerging markets.

The local currency closed at 43.62 against the US dollar, up from 43.88:$1 on Monday.

Intraday high hit 43.61:$1, while intraday low settled at 43.76:$1. Volume of trade amounted to $974.17 million from $1.023 billion previously.

The appreciation of the peso came following reports that China’s gross domestic product grew by 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, faster than average projections of 8.7 percent.

The favorable performance of China, which was previously feared to go on a hard landing following years of steep growth rates, meant that its neighboring countries like the Philippines might continue enjoying rising exports to Asia’s biggest economy.

Rise in exports to China should help offset likely anemic exports to the eurozone, which continues to battle against a debt crisis that recently resulted in credit-rating downgrades for nine of its member-countries, including France.

The United States, eurozone and China are some of the biggest export markets for goods exported by the Philippines and other emerging economies.