The U.S. dollar continues to gain strength against the Costa Rica colón with a 4.1 point rise over the weekend, according to figures published by the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR).

Monday’s dollar-colón exchange rate of sale averaged ¢590.57 after strong currency trading, reported the country’s business daily El Financiero. The purchase exchange rate stood at ¢577.98.

The last time such a rate prevailed was in October 2009, when the dollar reached an upper ceiling level imposed by the Central Bank of ¢595.59 to the dollar.

Due to this year’s dramatic exchange rate changes, already this year the Central Bank has had to raise the monetary policy rate at a level that exceeds their interventions in 2016.

The rise of the dollar is due to strong negotiations in a market that has a high demand for U.S. dollars, said El Financiero.