Uruguayan peso
Encyclopedia
- This article is about the present currency of UruguayUruguayUruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
. For Uruguay's earlier monetary history, see Currency of UruguayCurrency of UruguayThis is an outline of Uruguay's monetary history. For the present currency of Uruguay, see Uruguayan peso.-Pre-independence currency:Uruguay's currency was initially that common to all of Spanish America. During the struggle over this region, initially between Spain and Portugal, then between...
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Uruguayan peso has been a name of the Uruguayan currency since Uruguay's settlement by Europeans. The present currency, the peso uruguayo (ISO 4217
ISO 4217
ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Standards Organization, which delineates currency designators, country codes , and references to minor units in three tables:* Table A.1 – Current currency & funds code list...
code: UYU) was adopted in 1993 and is subdivided into 100 centésimos
Centesimo
Centesimo is an Italian word derived from the Latin centesimus meaning "hundredth". It was equal to 1/100th of currencies named lira. However, not all lira-denominated currencies feature centesimo as their 1/100th subunit...
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Introduction
Uruguay obtained monetary stability in 1896, based on the gold standard. This favorable state of affairs ended after World War One. An unsettled period followed. Economic difficulties after World War Two produced inflation, which became serious after 1964 and continued into the 1970s.The peso was replaced in November 1973 by the nuevo peso (new peso; ISO 4217 code: UYN) at a rate of 1 new peso for 1000 old pesos. The nuevo peso was also subdivided into 100 centésimos.
After further inflation, the peso uruguayo (ISO 4217 code: UYU) replaced the nuevo peso on March 1, 1993, again at a rate of 1 new for 1000 old.
Inflation
Uruguayans became accustomed to the constant devaluation of their currency. Uruguayans refer to periods of real appreciation of the currency as atraso cambiario, which literally means that "the exchange rate is running late". As a consequence of the instability of the local currency, prices for most big-ticket items (real estate, cars and even executives' salaries) are denominated in U.S. dollars.During the military rule, the peso was on a crawling peg to the dollar. A table of the future value of the dollar was published daily by the government (called the tablita). In 1982, the currency was devalued ("the tablita was broken"), throwing thousands of companies and individuals into bankruptcy. In the 1990s, a new mechanism to provide predictability was introduced, this time in the form of a sliding range, with top and bottom margins, at which the government would intervene. In 2002, after a banking crisis and amid a huge budget deficit, the currency was again allowed to float, losing almost 50% of its value in a couple of weeks, and, again, throwing into bankruptcy thousands of companies and individuals who held debts denominated in US dollars.
In 2004 a phenomenon completely new to most Uruguayans developed: the currency appreciated in nominal terms against the US dollar, going from 30 to 24 pesos to the dollar. By 2008 the peso reached 19 to the US dollar, recovering more than half of its loss during the crisis. This revaluation brought protests from the industrial sector, which felt that it lost competitiveness. The government hopes that a floating currency will "de-dollarize" the economy. Uruguay does not seem to have found a mechanism that provides the exchange rate some level of predictability, while at the same time allowing the country to adapt its prices so that its exports remain competitive.
Coins
In 1994, stainless-steel 10, 20 and 50 centésimos and brass 1 and 2 pesos uruguayos were introduced. 5 and 10 pesos uruguayos were introduced in 2003 and 2000, respectively. CoinCoin
A coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....
s in circulation are:
- 1 peso uruguayo
- 2 pesos uruguayos
- 5 pesos uruguayos
- 10 pesos uruguayos
In July 2010, 50 centésimos coins were withdrawn from circulation.
New 1, 2, 5 and 10 pesos coins were introduced in January 2011.
Banknotes
In 1995-1996, banknotes in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 pesos uruguayos were introduced, followed by 2000 pesos uruguayos in 2003. BanknoteBanknote
A banknote is a kind of negotiable instrument, a promissory note made by a bank payable to the bearer on demand, used as money, and in many jurisdictions is legal tender. In addition to coins, banknotes make up the cash or bearer forms of all modern fiat money...
s in circulation are:
- 20 pesos (Juan Zorrilla de San MartínJuan Zorrilla de San MartínJuan Zorrilla de San Martín was a Uruguayan epic poet - he is referred as "National Poet of Uruguay" -and political figure . He is featured on the 20-peso note.-Well-known poems:...
). - 50 pesos (José Pedro VarelaJosé Pedro VarelaJosé Pedro Varela was an Uruguayan sociologist, journalist and politician. He was born in Montevideo....
) - 100 pesos (Eduardo Fabini)
- 200 pesos (Pedro FigariPedro FigariPedro Figari was a Uruguayan painter, lawyer, writer, and politician. Although he did not begin the practice until his later years, he is best known as an early modernist painter who emphasized capturing the every-day aspects of life in his work...
) - 500 pesos (Alfredo Vázquez Acevedo)
- 1000 pesos (Juana de IbarbourouJuana de IbarbourouJuana Fernández Morales Vd.ª De Ibarbourou, also known as Juana de América, was a Uruguayan poet of Galician origin. She was one of the most popular poets of Spanish America...
) - 2000 pesos (Dámaso Antonio Larrañaga)
The 5 peso and 10 peso banknotes have been withdrawn
from circulation, given the introduction of the coins of the same value.