American Expatriate Costa Rica

Banks already exchange dollars for more than ¢600

On Thursday, the exchange rate exceeded ¢600 in commercial banks. At 10.15 a.m., the CMB Bank (Citi) was the first to offer the currency at ¢602.

Since mid-September the country has seen a series of increases in the exchange rate, a behavior the Central Bank justified as a “seasonality”. However, financial analysts say that some of the possible factors that would be causing it include:

-Uncertainty about the economic direction of the country (fiscal situation),
-Greater exchange flexibility,
-Protection of wealth due to expectations of greater depreciation of the colon.

During the first 10 days of October, the Central Bank sold a total of $26.3 million in stabilization operations.

On Thursday morning the Foreign Currency Market (Monex) initiated the quotes of the currency at ¢ 596.50.

According to data provided by the General Superintendence of Financial Institutions (Sugef), about 70% of the loans in dollars are in the hands of people and companies that do not generate income in foreign currency. These loans are exposed to foreign exchange risk.

crhoy.com