Central Bank will tweak exchange rate ‘whenever necessary’

Santo Domingo.- Dominican Republic’s Central Bank on Mon. said it will participate in the foreign exchange market “whenever necessary” to “avoid sudden jumps in the volatility of the exchange rate.”

Diario Libre reports that financial institutions have around US$1.7 billion available to meet customer needs, of which US$1.2 billion are deposited abroad.

The Central Bank’s benchmark exchange rate on Monday closed at RD$53.65 per dollar for sale, with some banks selling as high as RD$53.70. On Friday the US dollar sold for 53.63 pesos.

“The Central Bank will continue to observe the international scene where uncertainty about the effects of the coronavirus on the global economy has caused the fall of the main stock exchanges in the world, including the S&P 500 index, which registered its biggest decline since 2010 and a stampede towards shelter instruments, which have taken the US Treasury yield curve to levels below 1%, with interest rate expectations in US dollars close to zero (0%) in the short and medium term.”