News of central bank

Milei administration introduces 20,000-peso bill to Argentina

13-11-2024 00:38 A dinner in an average restaurant costs around 20,000 pesos and it can now be paid with this banknote bearing the image of liberal politician and writer Juan Bautista Alberdi.

MONETARY POLICY

Central Bank lowers benchmark rate to 35% from 40%

01-11-2024 12:46 Argentina’s Central Bank lowers benchmark interest rate for the first time in nearly six months.

CENTRAL BANK MANOUEVRES

Milei taps unseasonal source in search of dollars

30-10-2024 10:06 Faced by a shortage of foreign reserves, the Central Bank is turning to an unusual source of funding for this time of year: a risky trade by crop exporters.

'Shock Therapy'

Clamour for pesos leads banks to tap repo market

23-10-2024 12:47 A surge in demand for local currency in recent months has left Argentina's commercial banks needing access to pesos.

COURT BLOW

Milei officials rage at opponents as UK court rules against Argentina

17-10-2024 12:00 Argentina loses bid for UK Supreme Court to hear its appeal on a ruling that will force the nation to pay $1.5 billion in damages to holders of the country’s growth-linked bonds.

BANKING & FINANCE

Central Bank working to enable dollar debt cards

14-10-2024 11:13 Argentina’s Central Bank is working with banks and credit card companies to enable debt cards denominated in dollars.

DOLLARISATION ON THE CARDS?

Milei wants Argentines to dollarise the economy for him

02-10-2024 13:16 Argentina’s President seems to have abandoned his vision of dollarisation of the economy. Instead, he wants his countrymen to do the job for him: dollar by dollar, peso by peso.

ECONOMY & FINANCE

Argentina ships gold bars abroad to be financially certified

02-09-2024 20:30 Argentina’s Central Bank sent part of its gold reserves abroad in recent weeks to be validated for financial use.

AGRO

Agro dollars: the countryside liquidated US$2.61 billion in July

01-08-2024 16:08 The data of agro dollars come from the CIARA Argentine Chamber of the Oil Industry and the CEC Cereal Exporting Centre, two entities which combined account for nearly 50 percent of Argentine exports.

YPF CASE

Could Argentina's gold reserves be seized due to YPF debt?

25-07-2024 18:02 The government’s plan to get liquidity and show financial fortitude has opened a window of uncertainty in the face of possible international suits. There are priors which support the alert, and others that play it down.

by Ariel Maciel

MONETARY POLICY

Argentina overcomes key hurdle impeding end of currency controls

20-07-2024 17:53 Central Bank buys back majority of put options from financial entities, bringing President Javier Milei one step closer to lifting currency controls.

MONETARY POLICY

Argentina to sell dollars in parallel FX market to shore up peso

14-07-2024 09:31 Central Bank will sell US dollars in the country’s parallel foreign exchange markets starting Monday, says Economy Minister Luis Caputo.

ECONOMY & POLITICS

Argentina officials move to shore up bank support for debt plan

01-07-2024 15:35 Economy Minister Luis Caputo and Central Bank Governor Santiago Bausili sought to shore up support Monday in a meeting with executives from private banks for a monetary policy pivot announced late Friday.

ECONOMIC POLICY

Milei says he would slow crawling peg if inflation cools further

01-07-2024 12:10 President Javier Milei says peso could weaken at a slower pace if inflation cools to a certain level.

MONETARY POLICY

Milei shifts policy in second phase of Argentina plan

29-06-2024 15:30 Milei administration embarks on second phase of economic plan, announcing it will swap out notes held at the Central Bank for new Treasury debt.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Economy extended downturn in April amid Milei’s cuts

29-06-2024 13:09 Economy slumped slightly in April, marking four of the last five months in decline since President Javier Milei took office.

POLITICS & ECONOMY

Milei says legislative win paves way for monetary policy pivot

28-06-2024 13:56 President Milei says government will change its monetary policy framework following his first major legislative victory.

FOREIGN CURRENCY RESERVES

Milei’s push to rebuild Argentina’s foreign reserves grinds to a halt

26-06-2024 23:36 Argentina's Central Bank is struggling to rebuild its chest of foreign reserves as it starts to spend money in currency markets to defend controls propping up the peso.

ECONOMY – ANALYSIS

Brazil Central Bank daces self-inflicted crisis

17-06-2024 11:57 Brazil’s Central Bank is facing an emergency of its own making that threatens to sabotage years of deft policy making and credibility gains.

MONETARY POLICY

Central Bank to hold talks over risks from bond puts

14-06-2024 17:18 Argentina’s Central Bank is in talks with executives at commercial banks to reduce the overhang of puts on sovereign peso debts.

CURRENCY SWAP

Central Bank says China currency swap renewed until July 2026

12-06-2024 22:26 Central Bank renews a roughly US$5-billion portion of its currency swap line with the People’s Bank of China for another two years.

CHINA CURRENCY SWAP

IMF expects China to reschedule billions in Argentina’s debt

12-06-2024 11:34 IMF expects China to reschedule payments from the US$18-billion swap line that it has extended to Argentina.

ECONOMY

Milei says Argentina is ‘very close’ to lifting FX controls

15-05-2024 17:00 “The truth is that we’re very close to lifting” currency controls, Milei said Wednesday at a conference in Buenos Aires, without providing more specifics on timing.

MONETARY POLICY

Central Bank cuts interest rate for sixth time to 40% as inflation slows

14-05-2024 20:32 Argentina cut its benchmark interest rate Tuesday for a sixth time under President Javier Milei.

MORTGAGE MARKET MOVES

Argentines flock to banks as Milei awakens mortgage market

14-05-2024 15:06 Argentines are rushing to banks to apply for mortgages as interest-rate reductions begin to wake the home-loan market.

BANKS PROBED

Argentina questions three banks on puts, bond transactions

13-05-2024 20:36 Argentina’s Central Bank and regulators are looking into at least three of the nation’s banks – Galicia, BBVA, Banco Supervielle – for potential irregularities in transactions with government bonds and put options.

IMF DEBT PROGRAMME

Milei wins IMF staff support to unlock US$800 million

13-05-2024 12:07 IMF staff sign off on eighth review of Argentina’s US$44-billion programme, endorsing President Milei’s shock therapy programme and freeing up access to nearly US$800 million.

INTEREST RATES

Central Bank cuts rates to 50% as Milei wrestles inflation down

02-05-2024 14:04 Central Bank cuts key interest rate for the third time in three weeks as officials bet on a sustained slowdown in consumer prices.

Foreign relations & diplomacy

Top officials to meet People's Bank of China chief amid swap talks

26-04-2024 17:20 Argentina’s Central Bank Governor Santiago Bausili and Finance Secretary Pablo Quirno are scheduled to meet with People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng in Beijing on Monday.

INTEREST RATES CUT

Central Bank lowers key rate to 60%

25-04-2024 15:07 Policymakers at Argentina’s Central Bank lower interest rates to 60% from 70% as officials bet on a sustained slowdown of inflation.

RELATIONS WITH CHINA

Central Bank chief Bausili among top officials headed to China

18-04-2024 18:02 Top government officials are preparing to visit China in the next few weeks as President Javier Milei ditches his aggressive rhetoric against Beijing in a bid to deepen ties with a key trade partner.

BLOOMBERG

Caputo speech at JPMorgan event helps propel Argentine bonds

18-04-2024 13:18 Argentina won’t lift capital controls until international reserves are high enough to safeguard against a potential currency run, Luis Caputo tells investors.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Central Bank cuts interest rate to 70%, markets see inflation easing

12-04-2024 10:22 Argentina’s Central Bank cuts main interest rate to 70% from 80% – the third time since President Javier Milei took office.

BLOOMBERG INTERVIEW

Milei sees long slog ahead to bring Argentina reforms he pledged

05-04-2024 11:14 While Milei made shutting down the Central Bank and dollarising the economy centrepieces of his political campaign, he acknowledges plans are going to take a lot longer than he expected.

POLITICS & ECONOMY

Milei to cut 70,000 state jobs, boasting of chainsaw austerity

26-03-2024 22:29 President plans to fire 70,000 government workers in the coming months, he confirms in speech to IEFA Latam Forum in Buenos Aires.

ANALYSIS

Monthly inflation slows to 13% as Milei’s cuts bite

12-03-2024 16:45 Inflation in February slowed for a second consecutive time as the impact of December’s large peso devaluation fades and President Javier Milei’s austerity measures push the economy into recession.

Options for peso bonds

Argentina hinders debt swap by not offering puts on peso bonds

12-03-2024 12:23 Central Bank isn’t offering put options for peso bonds the government is selling this week in a record debt swap.

MONETARY POLICY

Central Bank cuts rates to 80% in surprise move as inflation cools

12-03-2024 09:43 Central Bank unexpectedly cuts banchmark interest rate as policy-makers forecast cooling of inflation.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

Analysts improve outlook, forecast inflation slowing to 210% in 2024

08-03-2024 10:48 Experts consulted for Central Bank’s REM survey of market expectations lower forecasts for inflation in the next few months, predicting 15.5% rate for February and a 3.5% economic slump this year.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Argentines put US$2.3 billion into banks, signalling faith in Milei

06-03-2024 11:37 If the trend continues, it would be good news for Argentina’s Central Bank, where a portion of savers’ dollar deposits count toward the foreign reserves needed to stabilise the peso.

Argentina peso bond

Argentina peso bond puts balloon, spurring inflation risk

05-03-2024 14:16 Puts on Argentina’s peso debt issued by the Central Bank have surged under Javier Milei’s government, reaching a record and prompting officials to scale back their use amid growing investor concern.

ANALYSIS

Milei’s ‘maquinita’ – How many pesos is Central Bank printing?

22-02-2024 15:31 Since Javier Milei entered the Casa Rosada as president, Argentina’s monetary authorities have continued minting the national currency – while altering its destination. Why is there talk of the "benign" printing of money?

by Martín Fernández Nadale

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Brazil’s economic activity caps 2023 with better-than expected growth

19-02-2024 14:05 Brazil’s economy grew more than expected in December, indicating activity is still showing some resilience to high interest rates as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva readies higher government spending.

Bloomberg

Goldman, Barclays, Citi get up-close look at Milei’s Argentina

09-02-2024 00:08 Some of Wall Street’s largest banks are set to visit Argentina just as Javier Milei tries to come back from a massive defeat in Congress.

BONDS & MARKETS

Argentina’s importers buy bonds in turnaround for Milei

12-01-2024 09:52 Argentina importers snapped up bonds aimed at helping them pay down debts owed to suppliers abroad in a win for the government.

PRESIDENT SPEAKS

Milei vows to shutter Central Bank ‘sooner or later’

11-01-2024 15:16 President Javier Milei vows Argentina's Central Bank will be shut down "sooner rather than later" and that dollarisation isn't off the table.

IMF DEBT PROGRAMME

Caputo brokers deal with the IMF he once battled

11-01-2024 09:27 Luis Caputo is back for a second act, and the IMF that forced his exit during those 2018 talks is cheering his initial efforts to salvage an economy that plunged further into crisis.

Bopreal securities sale

Argentina’s first ‘reconstruction’ bond sale to importers flops

29-12-2023 21:35 Central Bank’s first auction to pay down importers’ debts owed to suppliers abroad flopped Thursday as the monetary authority only sold a fraction of the total it had offered.