Following the significant drop Thursday, the dollar exchange continued its downward spiral in the wholesale market, Monex, dropping even further, settling at ¢542.49 at close of trading Friday.
The sell rate at public and state banks today is between ¢548 and ¢552, down more than ¢20 colones on Wednesday.
Today, the official exchange rate set by the Central Bank (Banco Central de Costa Rica – BCCR) is ¢531.86 for the buy and ¢549.87 for the sell, more than ¢20 colones lower than Wednesday.
The fall suffered in the dollar exchange the last two days is described by authorities of the Central Bank as a response to a number of economic factors, including the the payment of income tax in the first half of March.
The abrupt change is also attributed to the Central Bank’s new measure announced on Wednesday evening, a move to help the exchange rate market return to its medium and long term trend, as well as allowing the Central Bank to sell or buy dollars in the wholesale market at higher amounts above normal practices and for several days in a row.
The Central Bank is calling the new model of currency intervention, “interdía”.