Colombia’s peso gained the most in
almost six weeks after the U.S. government said it will
guarantee $306 billion of troubled Citigroup Inc. assets.
“The market had been hanging on the edge, waiting for the
announcement on Citigroup that finally came this weekend,” said
Flavia Cattan-Naslausky, a currency strategist at RBS Greenwich
Capital in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Colombia’s peso advanced 2.1 percent to 2,313.6 per dollar
at 2:35 p.m. New York time, from 2,362.5 on Nov. 21, according
to the Colombian foreign-exchange electronic transactions
system, known as SET-FX.
In addition to U.S. government guarantees, Citigroup will
get $20 billion in a cash injection from the Treasury, adding to
$25 billion the company received last month under the Troubled
Asset Relief Program.
The yield on the Colombia’s benchmark 11 percent bonds due
in July 2020 fell 14 basis points, or 0.14 percentage point, to
12.60 percent, according to Colombia’s stock exchange. The price
rose 0.766 centavo to 90.338 centavos per peso.
Cattan-Naslausky forecasts emerging-market currencies will
extend their trend of weakness.
“This should be seen more as a bear rally as it offers
investors the opportunity to pare back risk,” she said. “The
longer-term outlook is still one-way for riskier, emerging-market assets.” (Bloomberg)