There are mixed reports on the appreciation of the peso against the dollar yesterday. Headlines today in the List?n Diario and the Diario Libre describe two of the major banks selling dollars at a rate of RD$28 ? a full RD$10 less than last Friday and Saturday. There was a caveat, however. Banco Popular and Banco Reservas sold dollars exclusively to credit card customers to pay their minimum balances on their accounts. The newspapers report on an overall and steep decline in the price of hard currency. Exchange banks were buying dollars at around RD$28 and selling at around RD$30. El Caribe does report that Banco Progreso was selling dollars at RD$36.75 and Bancredito at RD$37, while buying at no more than RD$32.50. The newspaper mentions that last week the exchange rate had peaked with transactions as high as RD$40 to US$1. Hector Linares, the List?n journalist, reported that while the appreciation could be possibly attributed to the psychological impact of an imminent agreement with the IMF and other multilateral agencies, it might also be because of the reports from Santiago de los Caballeros and other areas in the North that say the availability of dollars has increased substantially.
The official exchange rate posted by the Central Bank is RD$31.29 for buying and RD$32.63 for selling.
Meanwhile, there are reports that exchange houses still are experiencing a scarcity of US dollars for sale to the general public.