THE peso yesterday shed four centavos to close at P44.59 per dollar from Tuesday’s close of P44.55.

The range-bound trading reflected how investors were cautious ahead of the policy decision by the US Federal Reserve on interest rates, currency traders said.  

The total volume was $581.20 million from $605 million Tuesday.

“The peso was range-bound today because the market is cautious ahead of the Fed decision [on interest rates]. There was substantial buying and selling interest but trading was still choppy,” a currency trader from a universal bank said.

“The peso above P44.50… is a bad sign since this suggests an upward trend for the dollar still,” the trader said.

Another trader said the market expected corporate demand for as firms prepare to settle their dollar obligations at the end of the month. 

MANILA is set to draw $47 million, or P2 billion, worth of loans from a number of overseas governments and has obtained regulatory approval to draw $10 million or P455 million from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).

BSP wants awareness on mobile banking raised

THE country’s two telecommunications service providers have done much to improve the awareness of mobile banking among Filipinos, but more needs to be done, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

LandBank to buy P50M of notes from Isabela bank

LAND BANK of the Philippines has signed an agreement with First Isabela Cooperative Bank (Fico Bank) to buy P50 million worth of unsecured subordinated notes to beef up the rural lender’s capital base under the Basel 2 standards, the bank said yesterday.

JUSTICE Secretary Raul Gonzalez yesterday ordered a panel of prosecutors to waive the payment of docket fees and pave the way for the early resolution of the syndicated estafa cases filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and other individuals against the officers and agents of Performance Investment Products Corp. (PIPC).

THE peso yesterday shed four centavos to close at P44.59 per dollar from Tuesday’s close of P44.55.

The range-bound trading reflected how investors were cautious ahead of the policy decision by the US Federal Reserve on interest rates, currency traders said.