Colombia's currency closed on Wednesday at 4,921.50 pesos per dollar, compared with 4,796.25 at the end of the session on Tuesday.
Colombia's peso weakened more than its regional peers and
followed a global trend after comments from officials at the U.S
Federal Reserve on interest rates and positive data from the U.S
economy.
"Colombia's peso isn't just the weakest Latin American
currency against the dollar, but also leads depreciation in
emerging (currencies), followed by the Thai baht and the Russian
ruble," Colombian bank Banco de Bogota said in an analyst note.
A controversial health reform presented by the government
this week would have weighed on the peso, analysts said. The
fiscal impact of the reform has not yet been determined by the
government.
Starting from April Colombia will pay 1 million pesos ($209)
to families in extreme poverty every two months as part of a
program of basic income, the government said on Wednesday,
referring to a measure included in its four-year development
plan which it presented to the Congress last week.
Juan David Ballen, chief economist of the Casa de Bolsa
brokerage, attributed the depreciation of the peso during
Wednesday's session "to uncertainty over the country's fiscal
sustainability if the reforms are approved as they have been
proposed by the government."
On Wednesday, thousands of people took to the streets of
Colombia's major cities to reject Petro's social and economic
reforms, a day after similar numbers marched in support.
Colombia cannot rule out internal risks such as increased local volatility and turbulent global financial conditions, as well as political polarization, a mission from the International Monetary Fund said on Monday. (Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra Writing by Oliver Griffin)
