Bolivia will hold its pegged exchange rate steady over the coming year , benefitting from its significant reserves , limited reliance on foreign portfolio investments and a weakening US dollar . However, the country's weak external position and falling reserves w ill increase the likelihood of devaluation in the coming years.
Bucking a regional trend toward historically low exchange rates, Bolivia will hold its pegged exchange rate steady over the coming year, maintaining the BOB6.90/USD that has been in place since 2010. A still-significant, though declining, foreign reserve position, limited exposure to "hot money" flows and a weakening US dollar will reduce depreciatory pressure on the unit over the near term.
That said, depreciatory pressures will increase in the coming years as a result of the country's weak external position. We currently forecast a modest and gradual devaluation over the coming five years, bringing the unit toward BOB8.00/USD. However, we caution that risks are weighed to the downside Should commodity prices broadly remain low and should the government struggle to attract investment into its efforts to diversify the economy's export base, a more substantial devaluation could lay ahead.