He Uruguayan Peso remains one of the exceptional cases among the latin american coins in the year in relation to the dollar, since it is one of the only two currencies in the region that has been strengthening against the greenback. In April, it managed to give up some ground in the local market.
The good performance in the economy of USA led to the Federal Reserve (Fed) would be reluctant, once again, to move forward with a cut in interest rates of reference, which are at their maximum historical range. Consequently, and given the confidence of investors in the currency, the dollar goes through a stage of strengthening, also driven by geopolitical conflicts that put the greenback as the protagonist among the assets that function as haven of value.
In fact, according to dollar index —which buys the currency with a basket of six international currencies— went from 101.33 points on December 29, 2023, to 106.30 points on April 30, 2024, that is, an advance of 4.90% in this period. Growth that accounts for the great year that the banknote has experienced so far.
What is happening in emerging markets?
On the other hand, emerging market currencies have generally shown a decline. Such was the case of the latin american currencies which, in April, registered a mostly negative behavior.
Thus, so far this year, only two currencies have managed to strengthen against the dollar: he Costa Rican Colon, with an appreciation of 3.10%; and the Uruguayan Peso, with an increase of 2.42%. In the local case, this has been a long-standing problem, the exchange delay, due to the difficulties it brings to export sectors in terms of competitiveness, and it has also become a central issue in the electoral campaign.
For its part, so far in 2024, the ranking of depreciated currencies It is constructed like this: first, the Peruvian sol (-1.65%), followed by the Paraguayan guaraní (-2.89%), the Brazilian real (-6.47%), the Argentine peso (-7, 78%) and the Chilean peso (-8.47%).
In April, meanwhile, the Uruguayan Peso was in tune with the regional exchange scenario, when it depreciated 1.2% in relation to the dollar. Among the other Latin American countries, those that lost the most value were the Colombian peso (-1.41%), the Paraguayan guaraní (-1.44%), the Argentine peso (-2.17%), the Brazilian real (- 2.66%) and the Mexican peso (-3.11%).
Only the Chilean peso (2.56%) and the Dominican peso (1.32%) experienced appreciations.
