THE peso yesterday closed unchanged in thin trading because of holidays in some Asian countries and persistent worries on inflation and crude prices, currency dealers said.

The currency closed at P42.80 to $1, unchanged from Friday. It traded as high as P42.69 and as low as P42.82 in the session. Trade volume dropped to $351 million compared with $514.5 million on Friday.

“Trading is thin since some Asian countries are celebrating holidays so that is expected. Of course, there [are] the persistent woes on inflation and high oil prices. The market is also waiting for fresh leads that will give trade more [definite] direction,” said a trader from a commercial bank who asked not to be named.

The trader also said the market is bracing for higher inflation in the coming months.

“This will be peso-negative; and with thin remittances, we may not be able to cover corporate demand. So we still expect a weaker peso,” the trader added.

REVENUE inflows in April reached a sufficient amount that Manila was able post a budget surplus of P25.8 billion.

THE peso yesterday closed unchanged in thin trading because of holidays in some Asian countries and persistent worries on inflation and crude prices, currency dealers said.

BANCO de Oro Unibank Inc. (BDO) sold P10 billion worth of unsecured subordinated debt eligible as Lower Tier 2 Capital, twice the amount of the original issuance announced last week.

BEFORE the cash register stops ringing, you may want to add home insurance to go with that carton of milk or can of spaghetti sauce.

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) would not be pushed into collecting the excise tax on thousands of small-scale gold miners around the country as this would immediately dry up a lucrative source of the precious metal that has helped strengthen the country’s external sector in recent years.