The value of the São Toméan dobra has decreased steadily against the U.S. dollar with the implementation of the economic adjustment program and the devaluation of currency. Throughout the late 1990s the dobra collapsed 5-fold within 4 years. In 1995 US$1 was equal to 1,420.3 dobras; by 1999 that figure rose to 7,200 dobras. Though the diminishing value of the dobra was meant to spur exports, it also caused high inflation in the country, which translated in a higher cost of goods for São Toméans. Before the start of economic reforms in the 1990 the inflation rate was about 44.8 percent (1989); it went down to 27.4 percent in 1992 and up again to 68.2 percent in 1997.
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