Authorities of the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR) injected $4.9 million in the local currency market in order to curb the sudden rise in exchange rate for the U.S. dollar. On Thursday, the rate to sell colones reached ¢519 in the local market and ¢526 on the international Monex market. The daily average sell rate as of 2:00pm was ¢514.64.
Chairman of the monetary authority, Rodrigo Bolaños, said that the change was in response to a decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve, which decided to cut the economic stimulus. Economist, Jorge Guardia is critical of the BCCR, and pointed out that the rate changes were within the range of bands, which in theory preclude action by the central bank. However, Bolaños claims the bank acted properly to curb excessive volatility and stabilize the currency market.