In July 2025, the US dollar experienced its first monthly gain of the year in Uruguay. However, August brought a change in trend. The US currency weakened, showing a 0.5% drop for the month, according to the end-to-end comparison between the close of July and August. At the interbank level, the situation was relatively stable, with a slight increase of just 0.02%, reaching an average of $39.995. On the last day of the month, the dollar traded between $39.95 and $40.05, closing at its peak with a marginal increase of 0.18% compared to the previous day.
Analyzing annual performance, the greenback has accumulated a 9.24% decline so far in 2025, and a 0.84% decrease over the last twelve months. During August, fluctuations were even: ten days with increases and ten with decreases, with no more than two consecutive days of the same trend. The average value of the dollar in August was $40.043, 0.5% lower than the monthly average for July.
Transaction volume on the Electronic Stock Exchange (Bevsa) reached 793 transactions during the month, for an amount equivalent to US$453 million. Yesterday, transactions decreased to 63, for a total of US$38.8 million. On the Banco República trading boards, the dollar held its buying value, while selling rose ten cents, closing at $38.80 and $41.30, respectively. In the "end-to-end" analysis for August, buying fell 25 cents and selling fell 15 cents.
On the international scene, Brazil, Uruguay's reference market , saw the dollar rise 0.28%, closing at 5.4264 reais. On a monthly basis, the dollar in Brazil fell 3.14%, representing a cumulative decline of 12.37% for the year. In Argentina, the official dollar fell 1.48%, closing at 1,323.83 Argentine pesos . In August, the decline was 2.07%, while year-to-date the increase has reached 28.28%. The blue dollar closed at 1,345 Argentine pesos.
Regarding economic indicators, country risk, measured by the República AFAP UBI Index, fell three points, closing at 70 basis points. This slight decrease was reflected in a slightly lower price for Uruguayan bonds and a mixed performance for U.S. Treasuries. During the month, country risk remained stable, showing a drop of nine basis points for the year. The average call interest rate for August stood at 8.86%, in line with the Central Bank's target of 8.75%.
On the other hand, the external competitiveness of Uruguayan products worsened by 2.13% in July compared to June, marking the second consecutive month of decline. In a year-on-year comparison (July 2025 vs. July 2024), the Real Exchange Rate Index showed a 3.09% improvement, extending the streak of year-on-year increases to 17 consecutive months. The analysis of competitiveness, both at the regional and extraregional levels, reveals significant fluctuations in monthly and year-on-year comparisons with several countries. A decline in competitiveness is observed vis-à-vis some key trading partners such as the United States and China.
It's important to remember that the real exchange rate is a key indicator, but not the only one, for assessing a country's competitiveness.
