Peso up on Japan growth, US stimulus
MANILA, Philippines—The peso partly recovered on Thursday from its losses the previous day as better-than-expected growth of the Japanese economy and potentially new stimulus by the US Federal Reserve lifted investor sentiment.
The local currency closed at 42.925 against the US dollar on Thursday, up by 12 centavos from the previous day’s finish of 43.045:$1.
Intraday high hit 42.86:$1, intraday low settled at 42.96:$1. Volume of trade amounted to $903.2 million from $932.15 million previously.
The appreciation of the peso, which moved similarly with other key Asian currencies, came following the release of a report that the Japanese economy grew by 4.1 percent in the first quarter, beating most forecasts.
Japan is a key export market for many emerging Asian markets. Japan is the second-biggest export market for Philippine-made goods.
The rise of the peso also came amid reports some officials of the US Federal Reserve are proposing another round of stimulus to accelerate growth of the US economy, which has yet to register solid recovery from its recession in 2009.
Traders said the favorable growth performance of Japan boded well for export earnings and economic growth of exporting countries like the Philippines. They also said stimulus measures for the US economy, mainly through bond purchases by the US Fed to boost liquidity, would help boost performance of the global economy.
