Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Colombia’s peso climbed after global stocks advanced and the government said it won’t seek capital controls.

The peso strengthened 0.2 percent to 1,965.45 per U.S. dollar at 3:37 p.m. New York time, from 1,969.35 yesterday.

“The stock advances in the U.S. is the driver today,” said Felipe Munoz, a trader at Bogota-based brokerage Corredores Asociados SA. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.5 percent to a 13-month high.

The peso has gained 15 percent this year, the third-best performance against the dollar among major Latin American currencies tracked by Bloomberg. Finance Minister Oscar Ivan Zuluaga said today that the country isn’t considering capital controls to stem the currency’s rise.

“We are not thinking definitely about capital controls,” Zuluaga said in a Bloomberg Television interview today in Tokyo. Short-term inflows “are not a problem in the case of the Colombian economy.”

President Alvaro Uribe last month urged the central bank to find a “solution” to the gains in the peso, which he said have caused exporters to cut jobs as they get less local currency for goods such as flowers and coffee.

Brazil’s imposition of a tax on foreign stock and bond investments last month to curb appreciation in the real sparked speculation similar measures would be implemented in Colombia, which last year abolished capital controls that were introduced in 2007.

Colombian Bonds

The yield on Colombia’s 11 percent bonds due in July 2020 slid three basis points, or 0.03 percentage point, to 8.11 percent, according to Colombia’s stock exchange.

Venezuela’s bolivar fell 0.2 percent to 5.38 per dollar in unregulated parallel market trading from 5.37 yesterday, traders said. Venezuelans buy dollars in the parallel market when they can’t get government authorization to purchase them at the official exchange rate of 2.15 per dollar.

Finance Minister Ali Rodriguez, speaking at an event in Caracas, said that the government is “cautiously” studying a devaluation of the country’s bolivar, which has been pegged at the same rate since 2005.

In Chile, the peso rose for a sixth day, gaining 0.1 percent to 507 per U.S. dollar, from 507.45 yesterday. The peso has jumped 9.4 percent in the past month, the best performance among all currencies tracked by Bloomberg.

The yield for a basket of Chile’s 10-year peso bonds in inflation-linked currency units, called unidades de fomento, rose seven basis points to 3.16 percent, according to Bloomberg composite prices.

Argentina’s peso was little changed at 3.8145 per dollar from 3.8161 yesterday. The yield on the country’s inflation- linked peso bonds due in 2033 was little changed at 11.36 percent, according to Citibank Argentina.

Peru’s sol climbed 0.5 percent to 2.8725 per dollar, from 2.8855 yesterday. The yield on Peru’s 8.6 percent sol- denominated bond due August 2017 was little changed at 5 percent, according to Citigroup Inc.’s local unit.

To contact the reporter on this story: Drew Benson in Buenos Aires at abenson9@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 11, 2009 16:31 EST