Economy of Peru - Currency

Currency

The nuevo sol (commonly referred to simply as "sol") is the currency of Peru. The exchange rate as of April 26, 2012 is 2.64 soles to the US dollar. On November 2011 one euro was worth 4.05 soles, by April 2012 one euro worth 3.50 soles. It was instated in 1991, when the Peruvian government abandoned the inti due to hyperinflation of the currency; the nuevo sol replaced the inti at a rate of 1 nuevo sol = 1,000,000 intis. The inti itself replaced another inflated currency, the sol, which was used between 1863 and 1985. The name sol comes from the Latin solidus, and is also the Spanish word for "sun", which the ancient Inca civilization worshiped as the god Inti.

The nuevo sol currently enjoys a low inflation rate of 1.5%. Since it was put into use, the nuevo sol's exchange rate with the United States dollar has stayed mostly between 2.80 and 3.30 to 1. Out of all the currencies of the Latin American region, the nuevo sol is the most stable and reliable, being the least affected by the downturn in the value of the US dollar; during late 2007 and early 2008, the exchange rate fell to 2.69 to 1, which had not been seen since 1997. The exchange rate is set on a daily basis by the Banco Central de Reserva del Perú (Central Reserve Bank of Peru).

The nuevo sol is divided into 100 céntimos. The highest-denomination banknote is the 200 nuevos soles note; the lowest-denomination coin is the rarely-used 5 céntimos coin.