Colombia’s peso rose the most in a month on Wednesday amid speculation the European Central Bank may take more steps to keep the euro region’s debt crisis from spreading.
The peso rose the most since Nov. 4, climbing 0.6 percent to 1,932.50 per U.S. dollar at 3:13 p.m. New York time from 1,944.15 yesterday. Today’s gain paired the currency’s drop in the last three months to 6.2 percent, the worst performance among 25 emerging-market currencies tracked by Bloomberg.
ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet yesterday said the central bank’s bond-buying program is “ongoing” and “we will see what we decide,” refusing to rule out an expansion of purchases.
“Easing concern on Europe is helping push demand for risk including Colombian assets,” said Carlos Ramos, an analyst at Interbolsa SA, Colombia’s biggest brokerage.
The yield on the government’s benchmark 11 percent bonds due 2020 fell nine basis points, or 0.09 percentage point, to 7.50 percent, according to Colombia’s stock exchange. The bond’s price rose 0.690 centavo to 123.342 centavos per peso.
