THE Philippine peso returned to the P57:$1 level on Friday, gaining 25 centavos to close out the month at P57.97 versus the greenback after hitting a record low of P59:$1 earlier in October.The currency opened at P58.30 with trading in the P57.82 to P58.35 range. Total volume hit $912.35 million, down from $1.077 billion in the previous session.Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the peso's strengthening rate was largely due to expected seasonal increases money sent home by overseas Filipino workers.A continued correction for the US dollar is also helping, he added.'The peso also continued to appreciate after global crude oil prices still lingered near nine-month lows ... [which] thereby could help narrow the country's trade deficit/net imports from record levels in recent months and could also help ease inflationary pressures,' Ricafort continued.
