MANILA - An analyst has forecast the Philippine peso's 2022 performance to be driven by changes in the Federal Reserve's policy rates instead of trade developments, just like what happened last year. In a report released on Thursday, ING Bank Manila senior economist Nicholas Antonio Mapa said the local currency, which was able to touch the 50-level to the dollar mid-trade this week, and the country's gross international reserves (GIR) would likely be affected more this year by monetary policy normalization in the US. He said another surge in the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infections, which during the day logged a record-high 34,021 new cases, contributes to the delay in the domestic economy's recovery. Citing Philippine Statistics Authority data, Mapa said the balance of trade in goods, which is the difference between the value of exports and imports over a certain period, in November 2021 showed a record -USD4.706 billion. Despite this, he said, the peso "