UPDATE 1-Bolivia central bank vows to defend currency peg despite rising FX pressure

Updates with details from press conference, background

By Daniel Ramos

LA PAZ, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Bolivia's central bank will defend its currency peg at 6.96 bolivianos per U.S. dollar, bank president Edwin Rojas said on Thursday, despite rising foreign exchange pressure due to sliding reserves that have roiled the South American country.

"We will maintain the exchange rate policy as we have been doing in recent administrations," Rojas told a press conference in La Paz, adding the country was also taking steps to make sure it could meet its obligations with creditors.

Bolivia is facing a sharp scarcity of dollars, which had led to informal currency markets emerging where dollars trade at far higher prices than the official rate that's been held stable for years. That's sparked calls for an official devaluation.

With plunging gas production and exports, Bolivia's net international reserves dropped to $1.98 billion at the end of 2024 versus $15 billion in 2014. Some $1.5 billion are set to help cover the country's foreign debt obligations.

Most of Bolivia's reserves are in gold, with only a small fraction in readily-available hard cash.

"We are taking measures to be able to met the obligations the country has in the private capital market sphere as well as with international organizations," Rojas said.

(Reporting by Daniel Ramos; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Adam Jourdan)

((sarah.morland@thomsonreuters.com;))