Markets in Colombia were closed yesterday and got off to a sluggish start following the long weekend. The Colcap was down 0.10% and volume was roughly USD$85 million. Grupo Aval, one of the largest financial holding companies in the country, announced it would extend the date for offering new shares to the public to April 11. The company is issuing between roughly USD$500 million and USD$1 billion, the price of individual shares offered will be COP$1,300.
The peso strengthened today to 1,866.70 to the dollar, making gains on the year top 2.0% as El Banco de la Republica continues its purchase of USD$25 million on a daily basis to contain the gains.
WTI oil was up 1.6% today to $104/barrel on continued fears in the Middle East as Yemen is now becoming the highlight of the uprisings. There are also expectations that the rebuilding of Japan could spur demand for oil in the coming years.