The Colombian peso dropped 0.5% against the dollar while stocks tracked by the country’s Colcap Index dropped 0.77% Monday as markets worldwide responded to growing concerns over the economic situation in Spain.
The shift in the peso value was similar to that of currencies of other markets in the Americas where investors turned to the dollar and government debt instead of developing countries’ currencies.
During the day, the euro slid to $1.2067, its weakest since June 2010, but recovered to end at $1.2131, ending only 0.3% lower than Friday.
Shares of Colombia’s state-run oil company Ecopetrol dropped 0.70% as a result of a 3% drop in crude futures in New York. The 0.77% drop of the ColCap index is similar to New York exchanges where the Dow Jones Index dropped 0.79%. Stocks in Europe ended more than 2% lower.
Global markets were instable following news in Spanish media that up to seven regions may seek aid from the central government. How Spain’s 17 indebted autonomous regions, locked out of international debt markets, refinance 36 billion euros in debt this year has been a major source of concern for investors ever since they missed deficit targets last year.
