Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr., president of the Confederation of Philippine Exporters, said that exporters are hoping the peso-dollar should not grow below P54 level.

"We could not complain for as long as it is market led," Ortiz-Luis said but stressed that, "Exporters are hoping it will not grow below P54 in the long run because at that level exporters become uncompetitive."

Ortiz-Luis explained that when the domestic currency performs very well against the dollar, the country’s exports would become expensive making them difficult to sell in the international market.

Ortiz-Luis said that exporters thought the P55 level as an ideal level but others are already set at P54 level against the dollar.

So far, exporters are still holding on to the 10 percent exports growth target this year after consulting with exporters and even the electronics sector, which growth had slowed down in the earlier months.

On Wednesday, the peso rose to a two-and-a-half year high of P53.03 against the dollar, boosted by strong remittances from overseas Filipino workers and market optimism brought about by the government’s improving fiscal position.

With the positive trend and optimism in the market, the peso is likely to hit the R52 level something within the first half of next year.

President Arroyo even crowed about the peso’s strength taking some credit for the country’s emergence as the best performing currency in the world.

The latest peso’s rise came after the Department of Finance released projections on the government’s fiscal position.

The DoF said the national govern-ment’s budget deficit for the whole of 2005 would likely be P160 billion to P165 billion, far lower than the P180-billion ceiling set by fiscal authorities early in the year.