Dollar this Tuesday surprised and ended up growing more than 50 pesos

The price of the dollar in Colombia surprised everyone this Tuesday, January 17, after it changed its trend and corrected upwards, despite the calm that continues to move in the markets, and for now it returns to the barrier of 4,700 pesos. after several days of collapses that kept it close to 4,650 pesos and led many analysts to think that, perhaps. for now it would continue to fall.

According to the Colombian Stock Exchange, This foreign currency ended operations with a last price of 4,728 pesos and 10 cents, which marks a significant rise of 57 pesos and 10 cents with respect to the closing price last Monday, when it was 4,671 pesos. This day for the dollar began with slight falls and remained in negative territory for much of the day, but around 11:00 am it began to grow until it ended in positive territory.

However, despite the fact that the closing price marked notable progress in the local market, during this day it managed an average price of 4,691 pesos and 14 cents, which reflects a setback with respect to the Representative Market Rate set for today by the Financial Superintendency in 4,693 pesos with 99 cents. In this way, it is expected that the TRM that will govern next Wednesday will be around 4,600 pesos again.

The news of the day was borne by the Chinese government, which recognized hours before that the epidemic peak in China and the return to normality “exceeded our forecasts”, according to what was stated by Vice Premier Liu He, a month after the sudden abandonment of the zero covid policy.

“The transition as a whole was stable and smooth,” he also said, responding to numerous criticisms of Beijing’s lack of transparency and videos showing Chinese hospitals overwhelmed by the sudden influx of coronavirus patients, once lifted. the strong restrictions in force.

Three days ago, China announced the death of 60,000 people from the virus in just over a month., since the strict anticovid limitations were lifted. The latter generated uncertainty among investors, who at the time came to fear a possible closure of borders and businesses in the Asian giant and this had an impact on a growth in demand for safe-haven assets.

Taking a look at other records reached by the dollar on this occasion, according to the BVC, its maximum level was 4,738 pesos, while the minimum reached 4,638 during the first transactions. Although this day a noticeable growth in prices could be seen, the fact that it was in negative territory for much of the day meant that its average value did not exceed the barrier of 4,600.

In the local context, for now it is expected to know the Index of Follow-up to the Economy (ISE), which will be revealed by the Dane this Wednesday and which will allow to know if indeed the country’s economic growth is slowing down as expected the Banco de la República or, on the contrary, rebounded again.

Likewise, there is great attention paid to what will happen to inflation for the start of 2023. Currently, this indicator is at 13.12% in its accumulated annual rate and according to experts, it could continue to rise, taking into account that January is a highly inflationary month, due to factors such as fuel prices, the adjustment in rental and registration payments, and the increase in transportation fares.

In all this we must also bear in mind that oil prices fell this Monday, But they remained near the highest levels since the beginning of the year on optimism that China’s reopening will boost demand for fuel in the world’s top crude importer.

Benchmark Brent crude fell 36 cents, or 0.4%, to $84.92 a barrel, while benchmark US West Texas Intermediate hit $79.65 a barrel. barrel, down 21 cents, or 0.3%, amid sparse business activity over a US holiday.

*With information from AFP.