Colombia’s peso climbed to a three-
week high as global stocks rose, sparking investor appetite for
higher-yielding, emerging-market assets.
The currency strengthened 1.1 percent to 2,525.88 per dollar
at 2:02 p.m. New York time, from 2,552.6 yesterday. It touched
2,517.70, its strongest since Feb. 16.
“There is some euphoria because of the Wall Street rally,”
said Daniel Arguelles, senior foreign-exchange trader at Bogota–
based brokerage Corredores Asociados.
U.S. stocks advanced the most in three months after
Citigroup Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit said in an
internal memorandum the company is having its best quarter since
2007, spurring speculation the worst of the banking crisis is
over.
Colombia’s peso also got a boost as pension funds sold
dollars, “taking profits on long positions,” Arguelles said. He
forecasts the peso’s three-day rally will be short-lived, with
the currency weakening to 2,550 per dollar by next week.
The yield on Colombia’s benchmark 11 percent bonds due in
July 2020 slid two basis points, or 0.02 percentage point, to
9.74 percent, according to Colombia’s stock exchange. The price
rose 0.120 centavo to 108.334 centavos per peso. (Bloomberg)