The US dollar slipped again in Costa Rica this week, leaving anyone who earns in dollars and spends in colones with noticeably less buying power than at the start of the year. The average rate on Monex, the Central Bank’s wholesale foreign exchange market, closed at 450.26 colones on Thursday, Nov. 5, according to Central Bank data. That was down from 453.81 on Oct. 26 and the lowest daily average since at least that date.
The Central Bank’s reference rate for Friday, Nov. 6, stood at 453.34 colones to sell dollars and 448.27 to buy them. A day earlier, the reference rate was 454.41 to sell and 449.63 to buy. The longer view shows the scale of the shift. On Jan. 2, the Monex average was 497.07 colones, which means Thursday’s close was 46.81 colones lower, a drop of about 9.4% since the start of 2026.
In practical terms, $1,000 converted at the Monex average on Jan. 2 would have brought 497,070 colones. At Thursday’s average, the same amount brings 450,260 colones, a difference of 46,810 colones, or about $104 at current rates. The decline cuts both ways. People paid in dollars and spending in colones, from exporters and tourism businesses to retirees receiving pensions from abroad, lose purchasing power as the rate falls, while households that earn colones and owe dollar-denominated rent or loans pay less to cover them.
The weak dollar has already squeezed some sectors that sell to foreigners, including medical tourism, where revenue measured in colones has fallen. The Monex average first dropped below 450 colones on July 17, when it reached 449.95, at the time the lowest level since the market opened in 2006. The Central Bank described the Costa Rica’s dollar surplus as extraordinary earlier this year and has bought dollars in the market to limit sharper falls.
The broader picture is one of abundant dollars, with the Costa Rica’s dollar supply hitting a record two decades after the end of scheduled devaluations. Monex is the wholesale market where banks and other authorized institutions trade dollars with one another, so its average does not match the price at a bank window. Banks and exchange houses set their own buying and selling prices around the Central Bank’s reference rate, which is published every business day.
