QCOSTARICA – The measures taken by the Banco Central de Costa Rica (BCCR) – Central Bank – to control inflation “went out of hand in terms of interest rates and the dollar exchange rate,” said José Álvaro Jenkins, president of the Unión Costarricense de Cámaras y Asociaciones del Sector Empresarial Privado (Uccaep) – Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of the Private Business Sector.
Inflation in the country decreased since November of last year and stood at 5.6% in February, moving towards the goal set by the Central Bank.
“Today we have inflation lower than that of the United States, which is 6%. Our claim is that we see a perfect storm. However, not only did the interest rate (for loans) rise, but the appreciation of the exchange rate is due to the so-called capital in search of better yields,” Jenkins said.
The precipitous drop in the dollar exchange rate will result with more unemployment and a loss of profits of up to 20% for some companies.
The price of the dollar has fallen sharply in the last month and this volatile trend generates uncertainty and concern in the industrial sectors, agricultural producers and exporters, and tourism, points out Fernando Rodríguez, an economist at the Universidad Nacional (UNA).
Read more: Dollar exchange resumes downward behavior
