Building on its 3.8% gain in the first 14 days of January, the Colombian peso has appreciated further by 4.5% over the first 22 days, maintaining its top position among emerging currencies. New international factors like Donald Trump's Greenland comments and a national pension decree bolster the trend, with the Chilean peso (3.8%) and Russian ruble (3.79%) trailing.
The Colombian peso's strong performance in early 2026 continues, now showing a 4.5% revaluation over the first 22 days of January, ahead of other emerging currencies. Updated rankings place the Chilean peso at 3.8%, Russian ruble at 3.79%, Brazilian real at 3.39%, Mexican peso at 2.9%, and South African rand at 2.7%. This reflects sustained investor appetite, capital inflows, and positive monetary policy outlooks, building on earlier drivers like government external debt issuance and favorable U.S. inflation data.
Conversely, the Indian rupee (-1.8%) and South Korean won (-1.7%) have depreciated most. On January 22, the dollar closed at $3,630.89 (down from TRM of $3,669.15), with a daily low of $3,590.10, high of $3,667, across 1,702 transactions totaling US$1.531 million.
Globally, Andrés Langebaek, former Anif vice president, links this to the dollar's weakening amid U.S. policy uncertainty. He cites Trump's Davos speech ruling out force for Greenland acquisition—after prior tariff threats against non-supporting European nations—as eroding dollar credibility. A subsequent framework agreement further calmed markets.
Domestically, a government decree proposes cutting pension funds' foreign investments from 50% to 30% over 3-5 years. Porvenir president Miguel Largacha Martínez emphasized the gradual rollout to avoid shocks: "It's impossible to repatriate abruptly... this is over five years." Langebaek noted the scale ($100 trillion) creates expectations of future dollar inflows to Colombia.
These factors sustain a favorable outlook for the peso amid lingering global risks.
