Peso rises to 12-month high vs US dollar: Trade deal with Trump in focus

Manila: The peso has continued to climb against the US dollar on Tuesday, already hitting a 12-month high in terms of average exchange rate.

The Philippine currency gained further to ₱56.32 vs $1 on Tuesday (5:06 AM UTC, April 29), according to Morningstar data.

Meanwhile, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data shows the peso has averaged ₱56.888 so far this month (April 2025) against the greenback.

That's about 3% higher than the ₱58.695 average rate in November 2024, and still higher than ₱56.951 average in April 2024, as per BSP data.

'Tariff war' cooling down?

The Philippine peso had a reason to strut on Tuesday (April 29), climbing to its strongest level in a year against the US dollar — thanks in part to easing US-China trade tensions.

On Friday (April 25), the local currency strengthened to ₱56.521 against the US dollar, gaining 45 centavos from the previous week's ₱56.976 vs $1 close on April 16, BSP data showed.

The BSP is widely expected to continue its monetary easing cycle, one of the levers it uses to keep local inflation in check, and potentially keeping the peso around the ₱56-to-$1 level.

US-Philippine trade deal

Meanwhile, Philippines officials are optimistic about securing a favourable trade deal with the United States, the Malacañang presidential palace said on Monday (April 28). 

A high-level delegation is set to travel to Washington on Tuesday (April 29) to negotiate the 17% “reciprocal tariff” imposed on Philippine goods by US President Donald J. Trump — part of a broader trade policy that has sparked global tensions.

Aim: Zero tariff

“We’ll aim for zero tariff,” Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina A. Roque said.

“But it depends on what they tell us. Because in every negotiation, there’s always the other side, right?… It’s either we get it in one go or like other countries, [go through] negotiations,” local media quoted her as saying

Enhancing market access

Roque said the Trade department’s strategy is to offer enhanced market access to key US exports to the Philippines, including:

“In any negotiation, we cannot just take and take… But when we get into a negotiation, we’ll always try to protect what’s here. It’s useless to negotiate if we kill (our own industries),” she said.