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Autor: Writer

~ 17/10/06

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff


Even public entities that deal in large sums of money are a little nervous with the new currency exchange system that goes into effect today.

The Ministerio de Hacienda said that its customs unit, the aduana, starting at midnight Monday would use the Friday bank exchange rate of 523.39 colons per dollar. After today, the customs agency would be using the reference rate supplied by the Banco Central.

Customs agents handle many goods denominated in dollars, and they have to collect duties in colons. But the Central Bank is not publishing a reference rate until later today.

The ministry said that other elements of the government also were paying close attention to the change. That includes the Tesorería Nacional, the Dirección General de Tributación, the Contabilidad Nacional, and the Dirección de Presupuesto Nacional. The ministry collects taxes and maintains a national budget.

The Central Bank has announced that it will no longer be setting specific rates for the colons. Until now, the Central Bank purchased and sold dollars at a rate that was set daily. Now the Central Bank will let the colon float, initially between a floor of 514.78 colons to the dollar and a ceiling of 530.22 colons to the dollar.

Banks and authorized exchange houses will be able to set their own buy and sell rates for the colon and dollar within that range. The Central bank will continue to devalue the colon each day by raising the ceiling some 14 centimos or hundreds of a colon and lowering the floor by 6 centimos.

Those with big holdings in colons are concerned that the currency might lose value rapidly. The Central Bank said that the system is a way to reduce inflation, which is now running at about 11 per cent.

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