THE Philippine peso appreciated against the dollar on Friday as positive developments arising from the ongoing trade discussions between the US and China supported the local unit.

The local currency gained six centavos to close at P51.58:$1 from 51.64 on Thursday.

“The peso closed stronger today at 51.58, the strongest in more than two months since Aug. 2, 2019 vs. the US dollar, from yesterday’s 51.64 on improved global risk appetite amid positive developments and continuation of US-China trade talks/negotiations for the second day for a possible partial deal at the very least,” GMA News quoted Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort as saying in a report.

The high-level trade talks in Washington between the two largest economies began on Thursday.

The influx of remittances from Filipinos overseas in time for the Christmas season also provided support for the peso.

“Seasonal increase in OFW remittances and conversion to pesos for fourth quarter 2019 including for some tuition payments and Christmas-related spending also partly led to the stronger peso recently,” Ricafort said.