Colombia’s peso fell and headed for its biggest weekly decline since May after President Juan Manuel Santos said the currency’s rally is “worrisome.”
The peso slid 0.6% to 1,835.56 per U.S. dollar at 10:06AM New York time, from 1,825.15 yesterday. It dropped 1.1% so far this week, the biggest decline since the period ended May 7.
Santos met with policy makers yesterday after urging them in an August 11 speech to be “more creative, more bold” in stemming gains in the currency. While he declined to say what measures were discussed, he said the central bank is studying the issue.
The yield on the benchmark 11% bonds due 2020 rose three basis points, or 0.03 percentage point, to 7.35%, according to Colombia’s stock exchange. The bond’s price declined 0.246 centavo to 125.111 centavos per peso.
Today’s drop in the currency pared the peso’s gain this year to 11.3%. It remains the best performer among 31 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg. (Andrea Jaramillo / Bloomberg)