Peso
• Previous week: The local currency traded lower during the shortened week. On Tuesday the peso hit 46.685 to a dollar followed by the 46.705-to-a-dollar value on Wednesday. The peso then depreciated slightly to 46.768 to a dollar on Thursday, and ended the week at 46.73 to a dollar. The total traded volume was at $1.97 billion, weaker compared to the $3.61 billion in the previous week. The average value of the peso is at 46.722 to a dollar during the week.
• Week ahead: The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) told its clients on Friday that the peso will likely trade with a downward bias, as investors continue to factor in the inflation print and as investors continue to react to data coming from the US economy.
September 7, Monday
August GIR
• July GIR: The country’s gross domestic product was slightly chipped in July this year, as the gold holdings of the Bangko Sentral declined in value during the period. In particular, the gross internatinal reserves hit $80.43 billion during the month. At this level, it is enough to cover 10.6 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services, and equivalent to 6.3 times the Philippines’s short-term debt based on original maturity and 4.5 times based on residual maturity.
• August GIR: In a recent interview, central bank Deputy Governor for the Monetary Stability Sector Diwa C. Guinigundo maintained that the GIR of the country would remain ample to safeguard the country. Also, Guinigundo said that if the country’s foreign exchange reserves will decline, it is not just because of their foreign exchange operations, but also the debt payments for the national government and negative revaluations.
September 10, Thursday
June FDI
• May FDI: The central bank reported last month that foreign direct investments (FDI) toward the country hit $1.64 billion in the first five months of the year. Amid the inflows, the total FDIs were 41.9 percent lower than the $2.82 billion inflows seen in the same five-month period last year.
• June FDI: Steady inflows of FDIs are still expected amid recent global headwinds. Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) Nicholas Antonio Mapa, however, said that despite this, there are still impediments to the full potential of the FDI inflows – which remained clustered in select sectors of the economy.