The peso exchange rate closed higher at P47.12 to the US dollar yesterday at the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx) from P47.29 the previous day. The weighted average rate depreciated to P47.21 from P47.132. Total volume amounted to $ 742.68 million.

Oil rises slightly to $ 34/bbl

SINGAPORE (AP) – Oil rose back above $ 34 a barrel Friday in Asia after concerns about weakening US consumer demand sent crude near five-year lows overnight. Light, sweet crude for March delivery rose 60 cents to $ 34.58 a barrel by midday in Singapore on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $ 1.96 overnight to settle at $ 33.98 a barrel. Crude fell to a five-year low at $ 33.20 a barrel in December from a record $ 147.27 in July. In each of the last three days, prices have risen slightly in Asia only to end up dropping about $ 2 in US trading. Investors are worried that the worst US recession in decades could be deepening, and taking demand for crude down with it. Job losses are a particular concern as unemployment drags on consumer spending.

Petron buys gas at premium

SINGAPORE, Feb. 13 (Reuters) – Philippines’ Petron Corp. bought 120,000-150,000 barrels of 93-octane gasoline at a premium of around $ 8.00 a barrel to Singapore quotes, cost-and-freight (C&F), the highest premium a buyer had paid for the grade this year, traders said on Friday. "This is so high, but they have specific specifications, such as no MTBE, which are not easily met,’’ said a Singapore-based trader. "More importantly, hardly any seller has any barrels to sell because of surging demand,’’ he added. The state-run firm bought the cargo for mid-March arrival by tender from a Western trader to fill a supply void, as its refinery will run at low rates this week after a routine maintenance which started in December. Its 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery is resuming production a month later, adding to the supply crunch, forcing it to seek spot parcels at a time when Indonesia and Australia are also soaking up the autofuel since December. Petron has been importing autofuel since December. It had earlier bought 230,000-250,000 barrels of gasoline for first-half February arrival at $ 5.00 a barrel premium to Singapore quotes on a C&F basis. The soaring demand in Asia has pushed the Asian gasoline cracks to its highest in more than a year at close to $ 15.00 a barrel premium on Thursday.

AIG shortlists 3 Philam buyers

Prudential Plc., Assicurazioni Generali (SpA), and Manulife Financial Corp. (MFC) have been shortlisted for AIG’s Philippine life insurance operations, Bloomberg News reported Friday, citing four unnamed sources. The unit may be sold for up to $ 900 million, Bloomberg said. AIG has been offloading units worldwide to repay a US government loan. Final offers for the Philippine unit are due February 23, Bloomberg said.

$ 120-B Asian FX fund eyed

BANGKOK, Feb. 13 (Reuters) – Finance ministers from 13 Asian countries will discuss expanding a currency swap scheme to $ 120 billion at a meeting in Thailand next weekend, Thai Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said on Friday. The 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus Japan, China and South Korea agreed in May last year to pool bilateral currency swap arrangements under the so-called Chiang Mai Initiative in an $80-billion multilateral fund that could be tapped in emergencies. "The meeting will discuss the expansion of swap arrangements to $ 120 billion and other forms of cooperation,’’ Korn told a news conference, confirming a figure mentioned in recent reports from Seoul. The meeting is to be held on the resort island of Phuket on Feb. 22. Korn said the expanded swap scheme would have to be ratified by regional leaders at a summit from Feb. 27 to March 1 in Hua Hin, southwest of Bangkok, and could be implemented by the end of the year. Korn said the Phuket meeting would also exchange views on measures to tackle the economic crisis as well as the enhancement of regional cooperation on trade and financial markets. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.