Colombia’s peso on Wednesday rose the most in two weeks as oil and copper gained and manufacturing in the U.S. and China, the world’s biggest economies, grew faster than forecast, bolstering optimism in global markets.
The currency strengthened 0.8 percent to 1,811.91 per dollar at 3:51 p.m. New York time, from 1,826.45 yesterday. It rose 1 percent on Aug. 17. The gain extends the peso’s jump this year to 12.8 percent, the best performance among all currencies tracked by Bloomberg.
The Institute for Supply Management’s gauge of U.S. manufacturing unexpectedly increased to 56.3 in August, from 55.5 a month earlier. China’s purchasing managers’ index rose to 51.7 from 51.2, according to a government-backed report.
“Because the U.S. is Colombia’s most important commercial partner, when things go well there, they go well” in Colombia, Julian Cardenas, chief economist at Bogota-based brokerage Corredores Asociados SA, said today in a telephone interview. “This gives some peace to local investors.”
The yield on the benchmark 11 percent bonds due 2020 fell four basis points, or 0.04 percentage point, to 7.06 percent, according to Colombia’s stock exchange. The bond’s price rose 0.303 centavo to 127.334 centavos per peso. (Nathan Gil / Bloomberg)
