jueves, 19 de mayo de 2011

Colombian Peso Holds Near One-Month Low on Dollar Buying Bets.



Fuente:Bloomberg.

Colombia’s peso held near a one-month low amid declines in oil, the nation’s biggest export, and speculation the government is buying dollars on the spot market as it seeks to stem the local currency’s rally.

The peso was up 0.1 percent at 1,816.10 per U.S. dollar at 12:22 p.m. New York time, from 1,817.20 yesterday. It touched 1,831.20 on May 17, its weakest level since April 19. The peso has gained 3.3 percent in the last three months, the best performance among six Latin American currencies tracked by Bloomberg.

Finance Minister Juan Carlos Echeverry said in April the government would create an overseas fund with as much as $1.2 billion from dollars bought in the local spot market through the end of 2011, and forgo repatriating funds from abroad for the rest of the year. That comes on top of the central bank’s plans to buy a minimum of $20 million daily until at least June 17.

“While the trend is for the peso to continue strengthening, the noise of currency intervention has been helping push declines in an external environment characterized by risk aversion,” said Gustavo Sorzano, an analyst at Bogota- based Helm Bank SA.

Oil, which accounts for about 40 percent of Colombia’s exports, fell on concern fuel demand may weaken amid signs the U.S. economy is struggling to recover. Reports today showed the index of U.S. leading indicators dropped for the first time in 10 months in April and sales of existing U.S. homes declined. The U.S. is Colombia’s biggest trading partner, buying about 40 percent of the Andean country’s exports.

The yield on the nation’s 10 percent bonds due July 2024 rose one basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, to 8.20 percent, according to Colombia’s stock exchange. The bond’s price fell 0.11 centavo to 114.124 centavos per peso.

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