Peso may strengthen further vs dollar

THE PESO may continue to appreciate against the dollar this week before the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting and amid the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks.

The local unit closed at P57.251 per dollar on Friday, strengthening by 10.9 centavos from its P57.36 finish on Thursday, Bankers Association of the Philippines data showed.

Week on week, however, the peso went down by 4.5 centavos from its P57.206 finish on March 7.

The peso strengthened on Friday amid risk-on sentiment following reports of a potentially longer ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, a trader said in a phone interview on Friday.

The dollar was weaker early on Friday on US Federal Reserve rate-cut bets following mixed economic data, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

For this week, the trader said the peso may gain further if the peace talks among Russia, Ukraine and the United States push through. Markets will also await the results of the Fed’s meeting this week, as well as developments in the Trump administration’s trade policies, the trader added.

The Fed will meet to review its policy settings on March 18-19. Markets widely expect the US central bank to extend its pause but are awaiting fresh policy signals from Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell.

The trader sees the peso moving between P57 and P57.40 per dollar this week, while Mr. Ricafort sees it ranging from P57 to P57.50.

Russia and Ukraine continued aerial attacks on each other, inflicting injuries and damages, officials said early on Sunday, as the fate of a proposed ceasefire to the three-year-old war remained uncertain, Reuters reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he supported in principle Washington’s proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine but that his forces would fight on until several crucial conditions were worked out. — Aaron Michael C. Sy with Reuters