The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Wednesday that it will not intervene in the foreign exchange market despite the appreciation of the peso against the US dollar.

“We will continue monitoring market determined foreign exchange,” BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo said on the sidelines of Philippine Economic Briefing Wednesday.

The local currency has appreciated from an average of P48.139 per dollar six months ago to the current P46 level.

The central bank said it would only intervenes in the market if there is volatility in the local currency that may cause disruptions to business operations of exporters and importers.

The BSP is expecting that the peso will remain strong this year, which will temper a rapid rise of consumer prices amid global economic recovery.

“The appreciation of the peso resulting from foreign exchange inflows could temper the increase in domestic prices of imported commodities,” document with BSP showed.