The U.S. dollar fell to another historic low against Costa Rica’s colón on Thursday, closing at ¢453.94 in the wholesale foreign-exchange market, known as Monex. It was the second consecutive session in which the dollar reached its lowest level since the Central Bank began publishing the series in December 2007.
The latest drop followed Wednesday’s record close of ¢454.49. Thursday’s closing level was ¢0.55 lower than the previous session and ¢3.69 below the rate recorded the same day last week, when the dollar closed at ¢457.63. The previous record before this week had been set on April 28, when the dollar closed at ¢454.92.
The move keeps pressure on visitors, foreign residents and retirees who earn or hold income in dollars but spend in colones. At the wholesale rate, $1,000 converted Thursday would equal about ¢453,940, roughly ¢3,690 less than the same amount converted at last Thursday’s Monex close. For people paying rent, groceries, school fees, medical bills or local services in colones, the difference keeps adding up.
Tourists and expats do not normally receive the Monex rate at bank windows. By Thursday afternoon, banks were buying dollars at ¢448 or less, while public banks were selling dollars around ¢460 to ¢462. Other private operators were selling between ¢461 and ¢466.
The Central Bank bought $17 million Thursday to meet demand from the non-bank public sector, but it did not intervene to build reserves or carry out stabilization operations aimed at slowing the colón’s appreciation. Trading volume in Monex reached $30.97 million through 189 transactions, the lowest daily total of the week through Thursday.
The broader trend has been building for months. The Central Bank purchased $767 million in Monex through stabilization operations between February 19 and April 30, making 2026 the second-largest intervention year since Costa Rica adopted its managed-float exchange-rate regime in 2015. That total is just below the $771 million recorded in all of 2017, although the 2017 operations were aimed at easing upward pressure on the dollar, not downward pressure.
The Central Bank has said its interventions are meant to smooth abrupt movements, not set a specific exchange-rate level. Earlier this year, it said an extraordinary surplus of dollars in the private exchange market was putting additional downward pressure on the dollar, prompting purchases in Monex to avoid sharp swings.
The strong colón has mixed effects across Costa Rica’s economy. It can make imported goods and foreign debt payments cheaper in local terms, but it hurts dollar earners and export sectors that receive revenue in dollars while paying salaries, taxes and local costs in colones.
For travelers coming to our country, Costa Rica is becoming more expensive in dollar terms. For foreign residents living on pensions, savings, remote-work income or rental income from abroad, the exchange-rate slide reduces local purchasing power. For businesses tied to tourism and exports, the stronger colón continues to squeeze margins at a time when many operating costs remain in local currency.
Unless demand for dollars rises or the supply of dollars entering the market falls, the exchange rate is likely to remain one of Costa Rica’s most watched economic indicators in the months ahead.
