According to the measurement carried out by the British magazine The Economist, the peso is overvalued by 23.7% in relation to the dollar.
The Big Mac Index positioned the Uruguayan peso as the third most overvalued in the world.
the british magazine The Economist published the well-known Big Mac Index updated as of December 2023, and the Uruguayan peso was one of the most overvalued currencies in a comparison of more than 50 currencies in the world. Uruguay and Costa Rica are the only two countries in America —of those included in the measurement—whose currency costs more than the dollar.
The indicator that compares the price of the famous hamburger revealed what experts, productive sectors and government officials have been warning for a long time: the exchange rate in Uruguay is behind, and the peso is unusually strengthened against the dollar.
In the updated measurement from December last year, the local currency was third among the most overvalued, only behind Swiss and Norway. In this way, the Uruguayan peso was registered as overvalued by 23.7% — 4.1 percentage points less than last year —; while the Swiss franc by 43.5% and the Norwegian krone by 25.5%.
The Big Mac Index in Uruguay
According to the measurement of The Economista Big Mac —alone, without combo— costs 275 pesos in Uruguay, equivalent to about 7.04 dollars. However, the same burger is worth $5.69 in USA. The Uruguayan price is the highest in the region.
Likewise, the study adds that the implicit exchange rate is 48.33 pesos per dollar. Therefore, the difference between the last value and the real exchange rate of 39.06 pesos marked this overvaluation. That is, according to the index, the dollar in Uruguay It should have a price close to 50 pesos.
On the other hand, the weight of Costa Rica It is also overvalued with a price of 5.71 dollars compared to 5.69 in the United States with a value of 0.4% above.
For their part, all the other countries in the region included in the list are in a different situation. For example, Argentina presented a particular situation, going from 35th place to 12th.
The value of Big Mac In Argentina it is 4,700 Argentine pesos and if the price of the official dollar is taken into account at 876 Argentine pesos. With this, the conclusion is reached that it costs 50 percent more than in 2023. In this way, Argentina It placed fourth in the index region.
Source: Ambito
