THE peso yesterday extended its loss after oil prices soared to record levels, raising import cost and increasing corporate demand, currency traders said.  

The local currency closed at P43.24 to $1, down 24 centavos from Tuesday’s close of P43—a six-month low. It traded as high as P43.05 and as low as P43.25 in the session. Volume totaled $686.64 million, from $715.08 million.

“What we’re seeing here is the high cost of importing oil and the rising prices of commodities.... At the same volume of importation, the cost [of] increase [is from] 20 percent to 30 percent. That’s putting pressure on the exchange. On the other hand, this is supposed to be the season when remittances are higher. But the growth is not enough to offset higher importation cost,”  a trader from Chinabank said.

“Some of those who are holding dollar remittances are not really converting everything to peso. They’re only converting as needed,” the trader added.

Another trader from a commercial bank said there is strong corporate demand for dollars, particularly from small and medium enterprises, but few are now converting their obligations to pesos because of the dollar’s strength.

THE reporting system imposed on banks that trade government securities using the platform of the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp., or Pdex, forces banks to violate deposit- secrecy rules.

THE peso yesterday extended its loss after oil prices soared to record levels, raising import cost and increasing corporate demand, currency traders said.  

THE Philippine central bank, struggling to spur growth and slow the fastest inflation in three years, is reluctant to raise interest rates on concern it could boost the peso.

PHILIPPINE banks are lending themselves at levels prevalent prior to the 1997 financial crisis, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Wednesday.

THE Land Bank of the Philippines is extending P4.3 billion as credit to qualified growers of jatropha, the bank said Wednesday.

The qualified growers include cooperatives, small and medium entrepreneurs and farmers’ organizations.

FIRST Gen Corp. (First Gen) said Wednesday its wholly owned subsidiary Unified Holdings Corp. plans to offer debt securities to raise much-needed capital.