Peso slightly up on prospects of credit rating upgrade for PH

MANILA, Philippines—The peso inched up slightly on Wednesday as prospects of a credit-rating upgrade for the Philippines lifted sentiment of investors on the country.

The local currency closed at 43.04 against the US dollar, up by 3 centavos from the previous day’s finish of 43.07:$1.

Intraday high hit 42.95:$1, while intraday low settled at 43.07:$1. Volume of trade amounted to $1.10 billion from $1.139 billion previously.

The appreciation of the peso came following a statement from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas that there was a good chance the Philippines would get a credit-rating upgrade soon as the country enjoys favorable macroeconomic fundamentals.

“We [BSP] are more optimistic now that we (the Philippines) will get an upgrade sooner rather than later,” BSP Governor Amando Tetango Jr. said on Tuesday.

He said this following a meeting between government officials and representatives of Standard & Poor’s, which has been reviewing the country’s fundamentals for a potential credit-rating upgrade.

Tetangco said positive indicators for the Philippines included its declining debt ratio, benign inflation, rising reserves of foreign exchange, and a continually growing economy.

S&P currently rates the Philippines’ creditworthiness at two notches below investment grade, and assigns a “positive” outlook on the Philippines. Such an outlook indicates probability of an upgrade within the short term.