The DR?s international reserves have declined to US$191.2 million, according to a report in El Caribe, representing a drop of US$44.6 million in the first 18 days of May. Edwin Ruiz, writing for the newspaper, says the government has used its reserves to make payments on amounts owed for petroleum imports owed and power generation.
The article states that on 14 May ? just two days before the national election ? the Central Bank sent US$50 million to the governmental Banreservas in order to stem the depreciation of the peso, which had fallen to RD$50-US$1 the week before.