Costa Rica Colon Hits Two-Decade High, Pressuring Central Bank

Costa Rica’s colon surged to its strongest level in more than two decades on a wave of exports and foreign investment, leading the central bank to step up interventions in the currency market.

The colon has gained 7% this year, to 465 per dollar on Thursday, its strongest level since 2005. That has prompted the central bank to purchase $497 million over the past five weeks to curb further appreciation, marking the first time since 2015 the bank has intervened to stabilize the currency.