CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATE

Currency Exchange Rate

Currency Exchange Rate

Currency exchange rate last week

The US dollar exchange rate is continuing upward against the majors this morning, on a course to test the recent euro exchange rate low at 1.2513 from Feb 18 and then 1.2329 from Oct 28. Sterling has dropped to nearly 1.4000 (the "George Soros number") from nearly 1.5000 on Feb 9 and it is now a little under the Fibonacci 62% retracement of the move up from 1.3504 from end-Jan. (Pistelli, 2009) A breakout of the 62% level implies a full run back to 1.3504. Only against the yen is the US dollar rate dipping, although that is seen as a normal correction of what was a huge rise from 87.10 in Jan to 98.72 last week. Last week dollar-yen was the biggest mover, from a low of 92.74 on Monday to a three-month high of 98.70 on Thursday - it's allowed a rest for profit-taking and re-thinking.

Currency exchange rate last year

After years of steady climb, the U.S. dollar lost some of its potency against the Costa Rica colon at the end of 2007. Since that announcement by Costa Rica's Central Bank, the dollar had continued its slow tumble, finally stabilizing around ¢ 493 to the dollar. Now, for the first time in several months, Banco Nacional, one of the country's largest banks has upped their exchange rate to more than ¢ 500 per dollar. (Pistelli, 2009)

Almost two weeks ago, Paula Gutiérrez, President of Costa Rica's Central Bank, stated that the US dollar's downward spiral against the Costa Rica colon would likely stop. She listed several reasons for this economic prediction, among them that national exports and new investor rates had recently fallen.

Though Costa Rica's only local currency is the colon, much of Costa Rican international business is conducted in dollars: national exports are paid for in dollars, oil is purchased in dollars, and investors arrive to invest their dollars. (Pistelli, 2009) With a low dollar-colon exchange rate, exports bring in less profit, oil costs more, and investors suddenly receive less for their investment capitol. For these reasons, Gutiérrez postulated that the dollar would no longer continue to fall, but rather stabilize at an exchange rate both fair and favorable.

Almost in direct response to her words, the Banco Nacional raised its rates yesterday, May 7, from ¢ 495.75 to ¢ 501. To purchase colones with your dollars, the bank was paying ¢ 495 instead of the previous ¢ 490. Though Banco Nacional saw the greatest increase, the Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) also raised yesterday its purchase rate to ¢ 499 and its sell rate to ¢ 492.5.

For the past two years

This rather more detailed graph picks up the story from the start of 2006. A combination of a strengthening dollar and a weakening pound saw the dollar rate fall through 2005 from a peak of about $ 1.93, and it began in 2006 at only $ 1.73. But in the spring of 2006, the dollar weakened ...