Peso falls over US, eurozone concerns

MANILA, Philippines—The peso fell on Tuesday as lingering concerns over the US and eurozone economies make investors hesitant to purchase emerging market securities.

The local currency closed at 42.29 against the US dollar, down by 3 centavos from the previous day’s finish of 42.26:$1.

Intraday high hit 42.25:$1, while intraday low settled at 42.38:$1. Volume of trade amounted to $921.82 million from $782.2 million previously.

The depreciation of the peso and some other Asian currencies came amid concerns that the US economy may remain sluggish this year and that it may take a while before the debt crisis in the eurozone eases.

A report on US consumer prices, which was released last week, showed that these fell by an average of 0.3 percent in May from a year ago. Traders said the drop in consumer prices in the world’s biggest economy indicated that demand there has remained anemic. It thus raised doubts on the ability of the US economy to post faster growth in 2012, market players added.

Traders also said that the euphoria over the favorable results of the Greek elections last Sunday somewhat waned, and that markets realized Greece and the eurozone still had a lot to do to address its debt woes.

The political party favoring austerity measures got majority of the seats in the Greek Parliament, according to reports on the Greek elections. Traders said this development addressed fears that Greece might leave the eurozone, but added that markets would still want to see the debt-ridden implement solid measures addressing its debt problem for jitters to fade.