Colombia stocks ended marginally higher Wednesday in a volatile session marked by worries about oil company Pacific Rubiales, whose workers have been on strike for three days demanding better wages.
The Colombian Stock Exchange’s benchmark Colcap index ended 0.14% higher at 1623.33 points.
Shares of Rubiales fell 0.2% to COP45,000, adding to its 4% drop a day earlier. Though it is based in Canada, Rubiales has most of its assets in Colombia and is the South American nation’s leading independent producer of crude oil.
Investors have been selling Rubiales shares on fears that, if the 4,000 workers who walked off the job Monday don’t go back to work soon, the company may have to halt oil production, just as it did for a week last month during similar labor problems. The company confirmed Wednesday that its daily output of about 240,000 barrels a day of heavy crude oil remains normal for the time being.
The Colombian peso, meanwhile, weakened modestly to close at COP1,883.00 to the dollar from COP1,878.00 a day earlier, according to a central-bank official.
The yield on Colombia’s peso-denominated bond due July 2024 closed at 7.467%, after opening the session at 7.495%.