Philippine Peso is Asia’s best performing currency; Stock index up 21%

Yesterday, December 28, marked the last trading day in Philippine financial markets.

We take time today to briefly recap the financial figures of the year 2007 that matter to investors, traders, and analysts with interest in the Philippines.

2007 PSEi growth: 21.4%
2006 PSEi growth: 42.3%

The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) ended a turbulent year up by 21.4%. This means that for every P100 invested in the index, the 2007 full-year gross profit was P21.40.

An exceptional performance, indeed, but not as stellar as the 2006 performance of the stock index which surged 42.3%.

Peso-Dollar Exchange Rate, end-2007: P41.28 : $1
Peso appreciation vs. US Dollar in 2007: 18.8%

The Philippine Peso is now considered the best performing currency in Asia in 2007 after it appreciated by almost 19% versus the US Dollar.

The peso rise both had positive and negative effects on the economy. On one side, it helped mitigate the impact of increasing oil prices. Had the peso not appreciated, commodity prices would have exorbitantly risen due to the ever-increasing price of oil in world markets. On the other hand, the rising peso translated to lower purchasing power especially for families of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW). Those earning in dollars are now getting less pesos compared to a year ago.

Next week, we’ll post detailed analysis of the stock and mutual funds performance in 2007 and also tips for OFWs and overseas Filipinos on how to deal with the falling US dollar.