• Previous week: The peso stayed on the low 46 territory during the week, as general weakness was still seen among emerging-market economies during the period. The peso started the week on flat trade, barely moving but took further beating from the strength of the dollar in the last trading day of the week on Thursday, after the release of the Federal Open Market Committee minutes of the meeting. The peso closed the shortened trading week at 46.5 to a dollar, hitting a new five-year low.
• Week ahead: Market players still show bias toward the dollar, as the weakness in regional currencies linger. Fresh leads are up for traders in the coming week, as most will be looking at the second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) of the country set for release on Thursday.
GDP
• Q1 GDP: The market was disappointed following the release of the first-quarter GDP months ago, hitting a 5.2-percent growth. This is the slowest growth of the country in three years, as government agencies took to weak exports and slow government spending as the main reasons behind the growth slump.
• Q2 GDP: Economist are expecting an uptick in the expansion rate of the country in the months of April to June this year although they are still divided on as to what magnitude will the acceleration be. Moody’s Analytics said that growth likely hit 6.8 percent in the second quarter of the year, while a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas official earlier said that second-quarter growth accelerated, but only “slightly.” DBS Bank economist Gundy Cahyadi said just recently that public spending is still the most crucial card for the upcoming GDP numbers.