• Previous week: The local currency traded considerably weaker in the previous week, averaging at 45.59 to a dollar. This is a depreciation from the previous week’s average traded value at 45.324 to a dollar. The peso started trading during the week at 45.56 to a dollar, then slightly corrected to 45.5 to a dollar on Tuesday. The peso then went back to a depreciating trend toward the end of the week at 45.53 to a dollar on Wednesday. The peso then hit 45.62 to a dollar on Thursday and closed the week at 45.74 to a dollar. The total traded volume is at $2.935 billion.
• Week ahead: Local market players are likely to trade still in the upper end of the P45 territory and seen to be conscious of upcoming data releases in and out of the country, particularly the inflation data and corporate income data.
July inflation August 5
• June inflation: The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced yet another record-low inflation in June this year, at 1.2 percent. The June inflation print is a further slowdown from the previous month, beating May’s record-low inflation of 1.6 percent. It also contrasts with the June inflation rate in the previous year, at 4.4 percent. The month’s inflation is also lower than the expectations of economists as polled by the BusinessMirror, which yielded an average of 1.4 percent.
• July inflation: Inflation is largely seen to post another record low in July this year, possibly to below 1 percent. Bangko Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. forecasted inflation to fall at 0.5 percent to 1.3 percent in July, a concept seen to be agreed upon by private economists in the country (see related story).