A greater supply of dollars, high local interest rates and a decrease in imports of durable goods explain the decreasing trend of the U.S. dollar exchange rate in Costa Rica, which on June 18 reached the lowest level of the year.
In 2018, the dollar exchange against the local currency, the Colon, was on an upward trend, however, between February 6 and mid-June of this year, there has been a fall of up to 28 colones per U.S. dollar.
Figures from the Banco Central de Costa Rica (BCCR) – Central Bank – specify that so far this year have been reported ups and downs, as between January 1 and February 6 the average dollar exchange rate against in the wholesale market, Monex, increased from ¢609.05 to ¢613.87, but recent months have been marked by a downward trend, to register on June 18 the lowest level in 2019, ¢585.82.
This downward trend was noticed by the country’s export sector, which weeks ago asked the Central Bank “to avoid distortions in the fixing of the exchange rate by the oversupply of dollars from the sources of financing of the fiscal deficit.”
Gerardo Corrales, an economist, explained to Elobservador.com that “… the exchange rate is sustained at low levels as a result of lower imports of vehicles, white goods and other durable goods. There is a greater supply of dollars coming from the conversion of investments from dollars to colones, to take advantage of higher interest rates.”
The dollar exchange rate set by the BCCR today, Friday, June 21, is ¢581.65 for the buy and ¢587.95 for the sell.
The rate at the banks (at closing Thursday) is ¢578 for the buy and ¢591 for the sell at the Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) and Banco Nacional (BN), while at the private banks it was ¢576 and ¢591 at the Scotiabank and BAC Credomatic.
For the latest exchange rates (set daily from Tuesday to Saturday) at the Banco Central and at the banks, cooperatives and exchange houses (en ventanilla).
The latest BCCR report explains that to April of this year the Monthly Economic Activity Index reported in April a 1.6% year-on-year increase, variation that is lower to the 1.8% growth reported in March.
