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The peso closed weaker on Monday on the back of
market expectation that oil prices will climb due to Hurricane
Gustav in the US, continued risk aversion and a stronger US dollar,
traders said.
At the Philippine Dealing System
(PDS), the peso closed at P46.20 in Monday from P45.925 on Friday
against the greenback. It opened at P46 and traded to a high of
P46.300 and low of P46. Total volume turnover reached $780.100
million.
Traders said the market expects
oil prices to increase as Hurricane Gustav hits the Mexican Gulf
where petroleum wells that produce 20 percent of oil supply of the
US is located.
“The underlying tone of the
peso weakness was driven by strong dollar as well as continued risk
aversion and import season,” Marcelo Ayes, RCBC senior vice
president, said.
He said the peso is expected to
reach P46.50 this week and would likely touch P47 against the
dollar. The central bank, however, expects peso to improve in the
last quarter of year as the remittance season starts in October. The
government expects peso to average within P42 to P45 this year.
At the Philippine Stock Exchange,
local share prices closed little changed Monday with the composite
index shedding 1.57 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,686.52. The
all-share index was down 6.36 points to 1,662.39.
Forty-seven issues declined, 24
advanced and 58 ended unchanged. Turnover fell to P1 billion from
P2.569 billion on Friday.
“Investors are exhibiting
cautiousness as they await the impact of Hurricane Gustav on global
oil prices,” Harry Liu of Summit Securities told Dow Jones
Newswires.
Unicapital Securities said that
with the lower than expected economic growth in the three months to
June announced last week, the market has nothing to anticipate
locally and that its “behavior may rely on external news.”
Property issues were higher after
the gross domestic product data showed the real-estate sector had
remained brisk despite surging inflation.
Dealers said the market was
likely to remain in a trading band of between 2,600 and 2,700
points.
Top-traded Megaworld added 1.4
percent to P1.48, while Ayala Land rose 2.4 percent to P10.50.
Philippine Long Distance
Telephone gained 0.4 percent to P2,730. San Miguel A and B shares
were both unchanged at P44 and P45, respectively.
--Maricel E. Burgonio and AFP
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