The Colombian peso closed stronger against the dollar Friday as the effects of the central bank’s purchases of dollar on the spot market faded.
The peso closed at 1,798.5 Colombian pesos to the dollar from COP1,810.15 on Thursday.
The central bank Wednesday said it will buy at least $20 million on the spot market every day for at least four months to tame the peso’s appreciation and build up international reserves. The peso had appreciated 13% so far this year.
“We said the effects would be short-lived,” said Andres Jimenez, a market analyst with local brokerage Interbolsa. “Twenty million dollars is a drop in the ocean, the strong peso is here to stay.”
Finance Minister Juan Carlos Echeverry said Friday the bank is able to buy much more than $20 million a day.
Meanwhile, on the stock market, the IGBC index fell 0.3% to 14,043.5 points.
The most-traded shares were from oil company Pacific Rubiales Energy, which rose 0.7% to COP45,220, while shares of state-controlled oil company Ecopetrol SA fell 0.6% to COP3,530.
The yield on the Colombian benchmark 2020 bond ended at 7.175% from 7.196% Thursday. (Inti Landauro / Dow Jones Newswires)
