Peso slightly down

FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The peso moved sideways on Wednesday as the market waited for decisions of monetary officials of key economies on whether they would implement stimulus measures.

The local currency closed at 41.57 against the US dollar, down by just a centavo from the previous day’s finish of 41.56:$1.

Intraday high hit 41.44:$1, while intraday low settled at 41.595:$1.

Volume of trade reached $870.1 million from $592.8 million previously.

The slight movement of the peso came amid reports the central banks of the United States, the eurozone and China have been contemplating on implementing stimulus measures as a means to accelerate growth of their economies.

The eurozone is suffering from a recession, while the United States is confronted with weak growth. China still enjoys a healthy pace of growth but it is already much slower than what it used to register. The 7.6-percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth for China in the second quarter was its slowest in three years.

The US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, should they indeed implement another stimulus measure, are expected to do so by buying bonds and thus injecting liquidity to their economies. China is seen poised to also stimulate its economy to help avoid an even sharper slowdown.

Traders said that investors have been seeing emerging markets like the Philippines being affected by developments in other key economies. Prolonged crisis in the eurozone, inability of the US economy to post a more substantial recovery, and further slowdown of China are seen weighing down on the growth performance of emerging economies like the Philippines.

The United States, the eurozone and China are key export markets for many economies.