The dollar closed the week at S/3.66. What happened to the US currency this week?

The exchange rate in Peru closed the week at S/ 3.66, according to data from the Central Reserve Bank (BCR), this after a quiet week in terms of its evolution, said Matías Maciel, co-founder of Rextie.

For Maciel, these levels were not seen since before the 2021 electoral process and, he assured, this responds to external and internal factors. Thus, in the external environment, the United States had inflation data below 5% and it is expected that this will finish convincing the Federal Reserve (FED) to interrupt its policy of raising interest rates, added the specialist.

As for the local level, the political and social climate seems to have entered a tense calm, says Maciel, which allows economic agents to concentrate more on their businesses.

“At the same time, we learned that the BCR’s international reserves are healthy, with a growth of several billion dollars so far in 2023, adding further support to the national currency”I note.

During the week

The exchange rate started the week at S/ 3.708 and on Tuesday it fell 0.41%, closing at S/ 3.693 and on Wednesday it continued to fall by an additional 0.6% and closing at S/ 3.671.

Asvim Asencios, Foreign Exchange trader at Renta4 SAB, agreed with Maciel that, at a global level, the dollar fell against other currencies after the inflation data from the United States was released, despite the fact that core inflation remains well above than expected at 5.5%.

On Thursday, the dollar continued its downward path and closed at S/ 3.6625, 0.23% less than the last close. During that day, the exchange rate reached a maximum of S/ 3.69 and a minimum of S/ 3.661.

That day, the BCR board of directors decided to maintain the reference interest rate at 7.75% for the fourth consecutive month. The decision, as he explained in his statement, does not necessarily imply an end to the interest rate hike cycle.

According to Asencios, the dollar fell globally after economic data regarding the US labor market were published, resulting in new unemployment claims at 264,000, compared to the 245,000 that were projected.