Peso jumps up over favorable news on Greece’s debt-swap offer, US jobs

A bank employee displays US dollar (left) and Philippine notes in Manila in this August 2011 file photo. The local currency closed at its intraday high of 42.57 against the US dollar on Thursday, March 8, 2012, up by 30 centavos from the previous day’s finish of 42.87. AFP PHOTO/TED ALJIBE

MANILA, Philippines—The peso was up significantly on Thursday amid expectations that Greece will be able to gather a sufficient number of bondholders to agree to the debt-swap offer and following reports of job creation in the United States.

The local currency closed at its intraday high of 42.57 against the US dollar on Thursday, up by 30 centavos from the previous day’s finish of 42.87.

Intraday low settled at 42.82:$1. Volume of trade inched up to $1.058 billion from $973 million previously.

Traders said reports of a significant number of Greek bondholders expressing willingness to enter into a debt swap deal with the Greek government fueled hopes that the crisis in the West would not worsen, although the crisis has not been completely resolved.

Under the debt swap offer, holders of Greek sovereign bonds are asked to forego nearly 50 percent of their supposed earnings in exchange for other European securities that have longer maturities. The Greek government is supposed to finalize the agreement on Friday.

Meanwhile, reports that the number of jobs created in the United States in February increased from the previous month’s also boosted sentiment of investors and their appetite for risk, thereby increasing demand for emerging market assets, such as those from the Philippines.

A survey of 340,000 businesses in the United States showed that 216,000 new jobs were created in the United States in February compared with the 170,000 in January.

The favorable developments lifted many Asian currencies, traders said.