Peso rebounds following July trade data release

The Philippine peso rebounded against the US dollar on Thursday, following the release of local economic data.

The local currency gained 9 centavos to close at P48.57:$1 versus Wednesday's P48.66:$1.

Earlier during the trading day, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported July trade data, indicating a wider trade gap during the month.

The balance of trade in goods recorded a deficit of $1.83 billion in July, even as the drop in imports outpaced that of exports during the period.

Broken down, export sales fell 9.6% to $5.65 billion, while imports dropped 24.4% to $7.48 billion.

"The continued free fall in imports translates to subdued demand for the foreign currency and translates to short term support for PHP," Nicholas Mapa, senior economist at ING Bank Manila, said in an emailed commentary.

"The Philippine Peso continues to outperform regional peers as the country posted a current account surplus, largely due to the substantial drop off in imports, and we can expect the trend to continue going into 4Q 2020," he added. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/RSJ, GMA News