Export relief seen supporting peso

Japanese financial giant MUFG Bank Ltd. believes the Philippine peso could gain modest support from the United States’ (US) decision to exempt certain Philippine agricultural exports from the 19-percent tariff US President Donald Trump imposes.

- BY DERCO ROSAL

Michael Wan, senior currency analyst at MUFG Global Markets Research, said in a Nov. 17 commentary that the recent tariff exemptions on exports bound for the US could “provide some relief to both the Philippine peso and Indonesian rupiah at the margin, especially given uncertainty around the conclusion of trade deals for both.”

To recall, Trump exempted certain key agricultural imports—such as coffee, cocoa, bananas, beef, and other food products—which, for Wan, suggests that the tariffs may be having a greater negative impact on US consumers and important constituencies than the administration publicly acknowledges.