Central Bank of Bolivia sells dollars to curb speculation
The BCB began to sell dollars to control the excessive demand created in recent days
The Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB) began selling dollars to the public to meet an unusual demand for the US currency, which authorities say is due to speculation about the country’s economic situation.
The president of the BCB, Edwin Rojas, said that the lawsuit was generated by speculation, especially on social networks and WhatsApp groups. The direct sale of dollars from the central bank seeks to control “speculative desires”, such as the release of legal reserves.
The sale of dollars from the monetary authority seeks to control “speculative desires” and release around 240 million dollars throughout the financial system. Last week, about 2 million dollars were allocated to exchange houses and another 91 million to banks for sale in those entities.
Given the persistence of the lack of dollars and “speculation”, the BCB began direct sales this week at its offices and through the state-owned Banco Unión.
The increase in demand for dollars in Bolivia coincides with a report on Net International Reserves (NIR) which at the beginning of February were around 3.8 billion dollars, one of the lowest levels since 2014.
According to the president of the BCB, the increase in the demand for dollars has to do with a phenomenon of speculation by intermediaries, but it is also attributed to the genuine concern of people who want to change their savings in Bolivians to the US currency before the eventuality that the exchange rate rises.
Rojas assured that the Bolivian economy is absolutely resilient and that the exchange policy will not be modified in the face of the situation, which they consider temporary. According to him, the institution will deploy all the potential it has in terms of monetary, exchange and financial policy to achieve macroeconomic goals and maintain a stable exchange rate.
K. Tovar
Source: TN
(Reference image source: ALD)
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