February 11, 2023, 1:40 PM
February 11, 2023, 1:40 PM
The offer launched by the Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB) of capture foreign currency from the export sector at a more competitive price of Bs 6.95 per dollar it transcended to the formal and informal exchange market of La Paz and Santa Cruz.
“The exchange (price) was maintained throughout the MAS government and now the Central Bank has promoted that it will raise the exchange rate to Bs 6.95 (per dollar); so, here in the market it has also risen to Bs 6.95”, recounted one of the free traders who works at La Ramada, where until the previous week US currency was bought at Bs 6.93 or 6.94.
Last Thursday, the issuing entity announced that, to encourage foreign sales of the country, it will buy dollars from the export sector at a competitive price of Bs 6.95 per dollar, higher than the average purchase, but which remains within the limits for the exchange rate established in the country (Bs 6.96 for purchase and Bs 6.86 for sale). The proposal is Bs 0.09 cents more than the official exchange rate.
“We plan to attract a good part of the exporters (…). Our initial objective is that $1,000 million will be moved with the policy that we would be implementing as of today.”informed the president of the BCB, Edwin Rojas, after specifying that the operation is voluntary and that it will be carried out through Banco Unión.
“A lot of information has come out about that and people are aware, now they are looking for (a price of) Bs 6.95” per dollar, said another free trader.
“Demand (in dollars) for that measure has increased. People think that it will rise more and others buy to do business”, said the currency trader, who considered the proposal of the Central Bank “a good decision, so that there is movement” in that market.
In La Paz, for the same reason, exchange houses and free traders also increased the purchase price from Bs 6.94 to 6.95, according to a report in the newspaper Página Siete.
In the Casa Cambio Alemán Transatlántico in Santa Cruz, dollars are still bought at Bs 6.94, but Bs 6.95 per unit is paid if the volume is high.
“At times there is something to sell, at others it is scarce, depending on how people change their dollars (…). People turn to exchange houses to buy, because banks no longer sell many dollars”said the manager.
Lto Spinning Association and Exchange Houses from Santa Cruz (Agicacruz) He indicated that for the moment he will not rule on the subject.
Analyst José Gabriel Espinoza warned that the BCB’s proposal to pay more for every dollar in the export sector, the remittance bond, the reduction of the legal reserve for deposits in foreign currency and the National Production Gold Bill aimed at strengthening the Net International Reserves “are generating a negative movement in the expectations of families”.
“We are seeing that these measures that the Government is taking and thatthat is announcing almost every week they keep the issue current, and as the concerns deepen we begin to see effects like those of the last few days in Santa Cruz, with queues at the gas stations due to concerns about the supply of hydrocarbons and others,” he said.
