Peso rises as markets shake off jitters over Euro zone woes

 AFP PHOTO/ROMEO GACAD

MANILA, Philippines — The peso inched up on Tuesday as markets calmed down after showing jitters over the lingering crisis in the Euro zone and took into account growth projections for emerging Asian economies like the Philippines.

The local currency closed at its intraday high of 42.275 against the US dollar on Tuesday, up by 7.5 centavos from the previous day’s finish of 42.35:$1.

Intraday low settled at 42.36:$1. Volume of trade amounted to $655.7 million from $678.6 million.

The appreciation of the peso and other key Asian currencies came following release of favorable earnings reports by publicly listed firms in the region. Traders said investors in search of yields placed funds in emerging Asian markets, which would likely continue driving growth of the global economy.

There is a consensus among economists that the Euro zone will suffer from a mild recession in 2012 as member-countries continue to confront serious debt problems.

Traders said Asian economies would suffer from spillover effects, such as reduced export earnings to the West, but would still post decent growth rates this year.

In the case of the Philippines, the government has set a goal for the domestic economy to grow between 5 and 6 percent, and economic managers saw no significant threats so far to the country’s attaining the growth target.