Parallel dollar exchange rate reaches Bs13.44 and is close to doubling the official rate | Cotización del dólar paralelo llega a Bs13,44 y está cerca de duplicar al cambio oficial

By Erika Ibáñez, La Razon:

According to data from the BCB, the USDT cryptocurrency issued by the company Tether Limited and used as a reference for transactions reached a selling rate of Bs 13.43 on Wednesday.

The lack of dollars in the country has been a problem dragging on since 2023.

On Wednesday, April 9, the parallel dollar exchange rate reached Bs 13.43 and is close to doubling the official rate, which remains at Bs 6.96, according to reports from digital wallet monitoring platforms.

Data from the Central Bank of Bolivia itself indicates that the USDT cryptocurrency, issued by the company Tether Limited and used as a reference for transactions, reached a selling rate of Bs 13.43 on Wednesday.

A similar exchange rate is being reported at various exchange houses. For example, at Casa de Cambio Manantial, located on 16 de Julio Avenue, dollars were being sold on Thursday at Bs 13.40. The same rate was offered at other businesses along Camacho Avenue.

Since 2023, Bolivia has been facing a severe shortage of dollars, which has led to the emergence of a parallel market where the currency is sold above Bs 10, even reaching up to Bs 14.

Dollar

In mid-March, the selling price surpassed Bs 11 due to the fuel shortage and the increased demand for dollars to purchase fuel.

The government announced that Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) would turn to the banking system to acquire the currency, which caused dollars to disappear from many exchange houses and triggered another price hike.

Following the arrival of new fuel supplies in recent weeks, the dollar stabilized at around Bs 13; however, on Wednesday, it once again experienced an increase, nearly reaching Bs 14.

In Bolivia, the official exchange rate is Bs 6.96, according to the Central Bank of Bolivia, and it has remained fixed since 2011. However, this rate exists only in theory, as the parallel market tells a different story.

On March 26, the president of the College of Economists of Tarija, Luis Fernando Romero, warned that several exchange rates are currently in effect in Bolivia: for exporters and importers, at border crossings, at exchange houses, for street money changers, and for wholesale and retail transactions.

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