Peso up on manufacturing data, COVID-19 vaccine news

The Philippine peso appreciated against its US counterpart on Monday, buoyed by the release of economic data and optimism on the availability of vaccines in the country in the next two months.

The local currency gained 1.5 centavos to close at P48.065:$1 versus last Friday's finish of P48.08:$1.

The local manufacturing output rebounded to a 25-month high in January as the Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) rose to 52.5 in January to post above the 50.0 threshold that separates expansion from contraction, results of the monthly survey conducted by IHS Markit.

"Peso exchange rate stronger vs. the US dollar today... after the stronger Markit manufacturing date in more than 2 years or since December 2018 or more than a year before COVID, sustaining the recovery even after the Christmas season," Michael Ricafort, senior economist at the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), said in a mobile message.

Ricafort also noted optimism on the news regarding the COVID-19 vaccines, as Vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. over the weekend said the Philippines is scheduled to receive some 5.6 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines in the first quarter of the year.

Aside from these, Ricafort said the peso was also buoyed by the approval of 60-day price caps on pork and chicken in Metro Manila; and developments on the CREATE Bill in Bicam and the FIST Bill for the signing of President Rodrigo Duterte. — BM, GMA News