The Colombian government has not sold dollars in the market so far in 2012, in an effort to temper gains in the peso, reported Bloomberg Friday.
In an e-mailed statement, the Finance Ministry said it is “worried” about the strong peso. The state-run oil company Ecopetrol is to make its $1 billion dividend payment to the government in dollars.
The statement also said “The government continues to permanently analyze measures to reduce the pace of gains in the peso.”
In February Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos asked Ecopetrol to delay its dividend payment to the government until 2013, also in a bid to stem gains in the peso.
Another strategy of Colombia’s central bank to rein in the appreciating peso is to buy at least $20 million a day for a minimum of three consecutive months.