Investors adopted a risk-on sentiment Thursday lending
strength to the Philippine peso and further weakening the US dollar which was
already suffering from budget crisis in Washington and a possible government
shutdown in the world's largest economy.
The local currency gained 19 centavos to 43.25:$1 at the close from
43.44:$1 Wednesday.
Trading volume totaled to $757.70 million from $859.90 million.
"The peso appreciated after the dollar weakened due to lower [US]
Treasury yields and funds coming in to buy peso assets in the form of bonds and
equities," a trader at a local bank said.
Reuters reported that the dollar fell and global equities markets
continued to struggle on Wednesday as concerns over a potential government
shutdown in Washington kept investors cautious, even as another vote looms on
raising the US debt ceiling.
A second trader said there was "risk appetite from investors,"
driving the peso to strengthen and outperform other currencies.
"The peso is the only one that appreciated against the dollar"
in the region, she said.
With a relatively light volume, the second trader said the peso is
expected to trade "range-bound due to US debt ceiling talks."
Banana Industry: New Trend
The banana industry continues to offer bright
financial prospects to the Philippine economy. It reveals opportunity to the
country focusing too this industry. Data from National Statistics Office show
that banana experts surged 73.4% in June, 2013, compared to 12 months earlier,
buoying the growth of total agro-based exports in June, 2013, to 7.6%. Banana
exports are expected to further increase because of the shipment of 3,000
metric tons of Cavendish bananas to the United States of America (USA) in
October this year. The USA Department of Agriculture has approved the maiden
shipment; for over a decade now, Filipino farmers have been eyeing the entry of
Philippine bananas into the USA.
Bananas are the 2nd biggest cash-crop export of the
Philippines after coconuts. More than 80% of our bananas are produced in
Mindanao, with Davao del Norte (16%), Compostela Valley (15%), and Bukidnon
(13%) as the top three producing provinces. Significant tracts of land are also
devoted to banana cultivation in South Cotabato, Misamis Oriental, Davao del
Sur, and in Southern Luzon, Caraga, and Western Visayas. Banana production
contributes not only to the national coffers in terms of export earnings but
also to job creation. In Mindanao, some 200,000 workers are employed in banana
farms and nearly 535,000 people depend on the industry.
The Department of Science and Technology, through the
Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and
Development, has infused a R34-million fund for banana industry's research and
development, focusing on selection of varieties resistant to disease infestation
called Fusarium wilt or Panama disease and on setting up of a state-of-the-art
laboratory and greenhouse for experiment on biological control of the disease.
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