News of central bank reserves

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

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.

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.

MONETARY POLICY

Central Bank likely to hold rate despite inflation spike

09-10-2023 21:04 Argentina’s Central Bank board plans to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged despite inflation data hovering around a three-decade high.

DEFAULT ON THE CARDS?

Argentina vote shock leaves investors dreading the next default

16-08-2023 14:05 Investors are fretting about the implications of negotiating with little-known populist Javier Milei when an all-but-inevitable deby restructuring process comes.

PASO REACTION

Out of options and money, Argentina presses the panic button

14-08-2023 22:09 After years of trying to avoid a currency devaluation that would add to soaring inflation and reduce its popularity with voters, Argentina's government has finally pushed the panic button.

BLOOMBERG

Argentina’s net reserves at record low, savings in the spotlight

10-07-2023 18:18 Argentina's Central Bank's net reserves have fallen into record negative territory, intensifying investor concerns about a possible run on the financial system.

IMF DEBT DEAL

Argentina pays IMF as negotiations to continue in Washington

30-06-2023 21:44 Government makes two payments owed to the International Monetary Fund before a Friday deadline; Senior officials Leonardo Madcur and Gabriel Rubinstein to hold discussions over a new staff-level agreement next week in Washington.

RELATIONS WITH CHINA

Economy Minister Sergio Massa to fly to China for swap line talks

28-05-2023 10:08 Argentina's economy minister will travel to China next week in a bid to free up more cash from a currency swap line that could help stem a peso sell-off before this year’s presidential election.

Bloomberg

Government hauls in oil firms for meeting amid dollar shortage

24-05-2023 10:43 Officials set to meet with oil firms to discuss how imports must be financed amid a severe shortage of dollars.

MONETARY POLICY

Central Bank to boost rates by 600 basis points as inflation soars

14-05-2023 11:55 Economy Minister Sergio Massa to announce new set of emergency measures, including raising Central Bank's key interest rate by 600 basis points to 97%.

BLOOMBERG – ANALYSIS

Argentina is going broke to stall a full-on currency collapse

10-05-2023 15:25 Battle to prevent peso from facing a total meltdown is leaving the Central Bank, by some estimates, broke.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Central Bank reserves drop to lowest level since 2016

03-05-2023 12:44 Central Bank reserves slump to their lowest level since October 2016 as institution plunders state coffers to defend struggling peso.

FIERY SPEECH FROM CFK

Cristina attacks Milei's dollarisation plan, blames IMF for inflation

27-04-2023 23:52 Vice-president declares that dollarisation would be “worse than convertibility” as she delivers highly anticipated speech that attacks IMF policies, opposition ‘inheritance’ and Javier Milei.

ELECTION 2023

CFK confirms she will not run for presidency

27-04-2023 23:27 Cristina Fernández de Kirchner reiterated on Thursday that she will not be a candidate in the October presidential elections.

POLITICS & ECONOMY

Fernández de Kirchner blames IMF for peso sell-off, inflation

27-04-2023 23:02 Cristina Fernández de Kirchner criticises the International Monetary Fund for prohibiting Argentina's Central Bank from intervening in financial markets to tame currency volatility in keynote speech.

MORE MEASURES FROM MASSA

Argentina to pay for Chinese imports in yuan instead of dollars

27-04-2023 00:16 Economy Minister Sergio Massa activates plan to boost dwindling reserves and agrees deal with Beijing that will allow Argentina to pay for Chinese imports in yuan instead of US dollars.

BLACK TUESDAY

Massa’s disobedience, Kirchnerite fury and inflation fears

26-04-2023 11:05 Economy Minister Sergio Massa will force a political debate in the wake of exchange rate crisis. Kirchnerism once again points finger at agricultural producers.

by Ariel Maciel

FINANCIAL TURBULENCE

President Fernández accuses opposition of fuelling peso fall

25-04-2023 17:55 Argentina's currency extends multi-day slump to weaken on parallel exchange markets against dollar to 497 pesos per greenback, with President Alberto Fernández and Economy minister Sergio Massa lashing out at "rumours and false reports."

FINANCIAL TURBULENCE

Economy minister vows to use ‘all tools’ to stop peso’s slump

25-04-2023 15:10 Argentina’s Economy Minister Sergio Massa vowed to staunch a collapse in the nation’s parallel currency rates as the peso’s worth slumps to record lows.

FINANCIAL TURBULENCE

Massa to use ‘all state's tools’ to counter exchange rate turmoil

25-04-2023 15:02 Economy Minister Sergio Massa vows to use “all the tools of the state” to bring “order” to dollar-peso turbulence, as he blames “rumours and false reports” for exchange rate turmoil on parallel markets.

DOLLARS & RESERVES

Government's bid to bring in dollars stumbles as peso falls faster

20-04-2023 15:09 Soybean exporters, who are temporarily allowed to sell dollars at a rate of 300 pesos per dollar compared to the official rate at 218, didn’t sell a single greenback Wednesday – the first day of no sales since the policy kicked in.

ECONOMY & AGRICULTURE

Historic drought adds to Argentina’s economic woes

06-04-2023 15:26 Argentina's worst drought in almost 100 years is decimating critical soy, wheat and corn production, damaging the income of farmers, producers – and the government.

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

Can they regain control?

01-04-2023 00:06 Once again, Argentina’s deep fragilities have surfaced as much-needed reform was replaced with kicking the can down the road, meaning that what could have been a relatively stable mediocrity all the way to the elections could be replaced with frequent turbulence.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

NEW EXCHANGE RATE

Argentina debuts ‘Dollar Malbec’ to aid exports amid drought

31-03-2023 10:16 Economy Minister Sergio Massa confirmed Thursday he’s rolling out a temporary, subsidised exchange rate for wine and other agriculture products, dubbed the “Dollar Agro” or “Dollar Malbec” by the local press.

NEW RATE ON WAY

Massa announces new 'dolár agro' exchange rate

30-03-2023 23:20 Argentina looks set to unveil yet another new exchange rate – Sergio Massa's new 'agro dollar' will be used for agricultural products and is another bid to boost Central Bank reserves.

OPINION

2022: the errors of the economists

29-12-2022 02:31 The time has come to do what economists find so uncomfortable and what I find so useful: the annual balance sheet of predictions

by Gustavo González

IMF DEBT PROGRAMME

Argentina’s US$44-billion IMF deal gets latest staff approval seal

03-12-2022 08:07 Third review of nation's US$44-billion debt programme now goes to the IMF’s executive board for approval, which is expected to meet this month; Upon completion, Argentina will have access to about US$6 billion, the IMF said.

Agriculture

Government moves ahead with second run at ‘soy dollar’ scheme

28-11-2022 12:35 Dólar Soja 2: Government hopes to boost reserves by US$3 billion with a second run at agroindustry-aimed programme.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

Massa team on alert amid accelerating Central Bank reserves sales

22-11-2022 16:53 Argentina’s Central Bank had to sacrifice almost US$200 million in operations on the foreign exchange market last week.

FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY

Argentina says China will increase swap line by US$5 billion

15-11-2022 21:36 China will increase its currency swap programme with Argentina by 35 billion yuan (US$5 billion), President Alberto Fernández tells reporters.

PRODUCTION

Economists and businesses see a dollar drought on the horizon

03-11-2022 00:34 Private sector fears government's economic team will tighten restrictions on access to hard currency for purchase of inputs, creating a dollar desert drought until March.

CURRENCY CONTROLS

Qatar and Coldplay: Argentina multiplies its exchange rates

13-10-2022 01:43 The 'dólar Catar' and 'dólar Coldplay' were added to Argentina's exchange control jargon on Wednesday.

NEW MEASURES

New taxes slapped on concerts, spending on cards overseas

12-10-2022 16:04 Aiming to "protect reserves for production and job creation,” the National Government introduces new levies to discourage purchases in dollars with debit and credit cards; New measures affect foreign currency purchases in excess of US$300, trips abroad and luxury goods.

BLOOMBERG – ANALYSIS

From Coldplay shows to the World Cup, Argentina mixes exchange rates

12-10-2022 08:23 Government officials on Wednesday will roll out new taxes applied to the official exchange rate for foreign travel ahead of the World Cup in Qatar next month and for locals attending concerts by artists such as British rock band Coldplay.

HUNT FOR GREENBACKS

Massa seeks more dollars, betting everything on 2023

07-10-2022 08:51 Relief from the government’s “soy dollar” twinned with concern because hoarding hard currency will not be so easy in the final months of the year; Minister on course to deliver fiscal deficit of 2.5% of gross domestic product, thus magnifying future political tensions and challenges for an electoral year.