The Central Bank announced it will be injecting US$60 million of reserves into the financial system to quell the marked depreciation of the Dominican peso. The official rate on 26 May 2020 was RD$56 to US$1, but banks do not have US$ available to meet the demand. The situation has been happening since last year, but has worsened with the Covid-19 health and economic crisis. The collapse of the tourism market, the decline in free zone exports, remittances and foreign investment have accelerated the depreciation.
On Tuesday, 26 May 2020, Central Bank Governor Hector Valdez Albizu met with the presidents of the financial institutions. In a press release, the Central Bank announced it would continue to use all tools needed to bolster the availability of hard currency to attend to the demands of productive sectors. “We will do what we have to do because we have the hard currency,” said Valdez Albizu. He explained that in the past three months, the Central Bank has injected US$2.1 billion into the national economy. He described this is an unprecedented amount.
The Central Bank says that the demand for dollars has increased after large local companies seek to make large purchases of the currency.
On her “Sin Maquillaje” morning radio talk show, Altagracia Salazar recommends that those receiving remittances at wire service house branches call ahead to ensure the funds are available. In some cases, US dollars are only being paid at the main headquarters of the remittance companies. In other cases, there are reports that companies are paying at up to RD$60 to 1 to not make the disbursement in US currency.
Read more in Spanish:
Listin Diario
Banco Central
27 May 2020