Peso prices have risen as the budget gap has narrowed

The PESO has strengthened against the greenback for the second day in a row as the government budget gap has narrowed behind the improved revenue.

The local unit closed at P52.12 per dollar on Wednesday, gaining 13 cents from P52.25. fiOn Tuesday night, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.

The peso opened Wednesday’s session at P52.35 against the dollar. Its weakest display was P52.375, whereas its intraday best was P52.10 vs. Greenback.

The dollar exchange rate rose to 65 1.654 billion on Wednesday from $ 1.498 billion on Tuesday.

Michael L. Rikafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, said in a Viber message that the peso appreciated the release of the government’s budget balance data, which narrowed the fiscal gap in March.

Data released by the Treasury Bureau on Wednesday showed that the government’s budget deficit in March fell 1.97% to P187.67 billion from P191.4 billion a year earlier.

The revenue gap narrowed as revenue collection increased by 35.96%, surpassing the 18.14% increase in government expenditure.

Meanwhile, a businessman blamed Peso’s praise in an e-mail for raising global demand concerns amid lockdowns over the growing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case in Beijing.

Millions of people in Beijing took part in their second Covid-19 test on Wednesday as they tried to keep the outbreak within a few dozen from escalating into a crisis in the Chinese capital, Shanghai.

In total, 20 million of Beijing’s 22 million will be tested three times this week.

The data shows that six of Shanghai’s 16 districts had zero cases outside the quarantine area, with seven more in single digits. In all, Shanghai identified 171 such cases on Tuesday, down from 217 on Monday.

Shanghai reported 48 new deaths on Tuesday, down from 52 the previous day, bringing the city’s official death toll to 238 since April 17.

For Thursday, both Mr. Ricafort and the trader forecast P52 to P52.20 per dollar. – LWT Nobel With Reuters