Colombia’s benchmark blue-chip index climbed modestly Monday, spurred by gains in heavily-weighed oil shares, while the peso extended its gains against the dollar.
The Colcap index, considered as the main measurement for Colombia’s most liquid stocks, inched 0.2% higher Monday to end the session at 1609.92 points. The index is up 2.4% in January after retreating 14% in 2011.
The most heavily traded stock Monday was Pacific Rubiales Energy (PRE.T), Colombia’s largest private oil producer. Shares of the firm rose 2.1% to COP43,380. Shares of state-run oil firm Ecopetrol SA (EC, ECOPETROL.BO) were up 0.6% to end the session at COP4,595.
Both stocks rose on higher oil prices. Light, sweet crude oil for March delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled 1.3%, or $1.25 higher, at $99.58 a barrel.
The rise in the price of oil, Colombia’s top export, is also prompting the appreciation of the peso in recent weeks. On Monday, the peso closed at COP1,814.15 from COP1,824 on Friday, according to central bank data.
The yield on Colombia’s peso-denominated bond due July 2024 closed at 7.385%, after beginning the session at 7.381%.
