Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
The lempira’s exchange rate against the dollar was unprecedented in the previous year.
At the end of 2020, the result was an appreciation of 2.11%, equivalent to 52.20 cents of lempira. This means that the price of the US dollar has fallen on the country’s foreign exchange market.
According to data from the Electronic Currency Trading System (Sendi) of the Central Bank of Honduras (BCH), on January 2 this year the reference exchange rate was 24.6498 lempiras per dollar and at the end of 2020 it was 24.1278.
This assessment is historic since BCH reactivated the exchange belt system in July 2011.
In 2019, the national currency closed with a devaluation of 1.28%, the equivalent of 31.18 cents, going from 24.3388 to 24.6506 lempiras per dollar in the electronic currency auction of the Central Bank. As the purchasing power of lempira was appreciated, the selling price of the US currency decreased from 24.82 to 24.29 lempiras per dollar.
Behavior
The result of last year’s exchange policy was a positive balance for the national currency, marked by the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the damage of Hurricanes Eta and Iota on the national economy.
However, the final reference exchange rate figure was contrary to the forecasts of the various sectors. The survey conducted by macroeconomic analysts at BCH in November of the previous year indicated that the nominal exchange rate will close with an appreciation of 1.28%.
In March, when the first cases of covid-19 were registered in the country, the projections were a devaluation of 1.51%. In the first quarter of 2020, the devaluation reached 12.45 cents, going from 24.6498 to 24.7743 lempiras per dollar in the electronic currency auction, which in percentage values represents 0.5%.
However, the global economic crisis caused by the pandemic has allowed the consolidation of the main variables involved in the exchange rate; among them, the balance of net international reserves, which on December 24 of the previous year amounted to $ 8,123.8 million, the equivalent of 8.8 months of imports of goods and services.
According to an analysis by BCH, other factors that contributed to the appreciation of lempira are the exchange rate behavior of Honduras’ main trading partners, as well as the inflation rate.
He points out that the participation of the banking system in the foreign exchange market has been essential in meeting the demand for dollars from different economic agents, generating confidence in foreign exchange policy.