The growing fiscal deficit, which threatens the finances of the Government, is also responsible for some imbalances that have manifested itself in the exchange market, as well as the increase in the dollarization of savings.
This was described by the Central Bank in its fifth commentary on the national economy, in which the recent movements in the exchange rate and the increase in the demand for foreign exchange were analyzed.
We can’t ignore that one of the causes that induces Costa Ricans to take refuge in dollar denominated assets is the uncertainty caused by the persistent fiscal imbalance, given the implications this has on the macroeconomic stability, as well as the lack of decisions to solve the structural problems of public finances,”
stated the Central Bank in the report.
Those who have savings, find in the foreign currency a refuge so that their resources do not lose value over time.
According to data from the entity, until last April the relative participation of credit in colones reached 58%, that is to say, 1.7 percentage points above that registered a year earlier.
For the Central Bank, this behavior detracts from monetary policy, since the entity does not have policy instruments to control the amount of dollars in the economy.
The Bank warned that it will remain vigilant, because if there are movements inconsistent with the trajectory dictated by the fundamental variables of the Costa Rican economy, it will intervene to moderate violent variations in the exchange rate.