News of exchange

The risks of the Milei government’s economic plan

17-07-2025 10:03 Macroeconomic order and disinflation alone do not guarantee long-term sustainability.

by Luis Secco

Milei’s FX gambit sparks sharpest demand for dollars since 2019

02-06-2025 17:31 Demand for dollars in Argentina at its highest since 2019 after President Javier Milei all but eliminated foreign-exchange restrictions.

ANALYSIS: SHOCK THERAPY

Milei intervenes in currency market despite letting peso float

28-05-2025 11:36 Argentina’s government has intervened in the currency markets to influence the peso’s value and is likely to miss reserve accumulation targets.

MILEI'S MEASURES

Distrusting Argentines loath to bank their 'mattress dollars'

23-05-2025 18:08 Argentina's government estimates there are about US$200 billion so-called "mattress dollars" out there – five times the reserves of the Central Bank.

ANALYSIS: SHOCK THERAPY

How Milei keeps peso strong ahead of midterm vote

14-05-2025 12:00 President Milei's government doubles down on a strong peso strategy, making it the cornerstone of his midterm election campaign.

ANALYSIS: SHOCK THERAPY

Corporate defaults start piling up as Milei policies kick in

07-05-2025 12:28 As Javier Milei removes the distortions that once characterised Argentina’s economy, companies that bulked up on debt by exploiting exchange rate gaps are hurting.

Editorial

Will April showers bring May flowers?

03-05-2025 07:45 Critics of the exit from the ‘cepo’ currency and capital controls argue that it opens the door to speculative peso-dollar shuffles. Whether or not they are right will go much further towards defining the outcome of the October midterms than any cultural battles.

CURRENCY, FX POLICY

Peso will float freely, but it’s not yet time, says Bausili

24-04-2025 10:24 Argentina’s exchange rate will be fully liberalised “in time,” says Central Bank Governor Santiago Bausili at event in Washington.

ANALYSIS: SHOCK THERAPY

Milei defies forecasts so far as Argentina’s peso strengthens

23-04-2025 22:41 Analysts see a stronger peso over the next few months with traders buying into President Javier Milei's plan.

Editorial

Floating on air?

19-04-2025 06:00 Milei might echo Alfonsín by proclaiming: “Happy Easter, the dollar is in order” but early days – a more total exit from currency and capital controls by Macri in in late 2015 was even smoother, without ensuring him a happy ending.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

What was the exchange rate when Milei came into office?

16-04-2025 16:10 Official exchange rate almost doubled from near 400 pesos to 838 pesos per greenback in the initial four days after Milei’s inauguration – now it stands closer to 1,200.

ANALYSIS: SHOCK THERAPY

Milei risks reigniting inflation by floating Argentina’s peso

16-04-2025 12:35 Decision to ease currency controls is having an impact in the real economy. Retailers and importers are cautiously adjusting their prices as the peso weakens. And some fear it could spark inflation.

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

Milei launches new economic phase, with nod to middle class

11-04-2025 23:56 Casa Rosada expresses satisfaction as alignment with Trump bears fruit and secures an unprecedented initial disbursement from the International Monetary Fund.

ECONOMIC CHANGES

Milei ends 'cepo' as IMF board approves US$20-billion bailout

11-04-2025 23:32 Milei declares "cepo is gone for good" as IMF unlocks US$12 billion in immediate funding and Argentina lifts capital controls in 48-month US$20-billion programme.

FIN DE CEPO?

Caputo announces new IMF deal, end to exchange controls

11-04-2025 18:45 President Javier Milei's government announces elimination of foreign exchange controls ahead of confirmation of new US$20-billion IMF programme.

BLOOMBERG - ANALYSIS

Milei needs rush of soy dollars to calm peso sell-off in Argentina

09-04-2025 17:42 Like his predecessors, President Javier Milei is depending on the soy harvest to manage one of the word’s most volatile currencies.

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

Tales of the blue (dollar)

29-03-2025 06:11 Milei and Caputo have promised to lift the 'cepo' currency controls. It won’t signal the end of the 'blue,' but it should reduce its importance and the wild fluctuations that voraciously mint millionaires and, at the same speed, erase their fortunes.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

ANALYSIS: SHOCK THERAPY

Traders bet on weaker peso as Milei’s IMF deal looms

26-03-2025 21:39 Investors see Argentina’s peso on the verge of devaluation again, but for Javier Milei, such a step could prove costly – especially ahead of midterm elections in October.

GAZA CEASEFIRE

Hamas, Israel complete sixth hostage-prisoner swap

17-02-2025 15:18 Argentine Yair Horn was released Saturday as part of the sixth hostage-prisoner swap under the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, appearing in better condition than hostages released the week before.

‘CEPO’ NO MORE?

President sets 2026 target for removal of currency controls

04-02-2025 15:47 La Libertad Avanza leader says his government will remove capital controls by start of 2026 – unless the IMF grants Argentina fresh funds beforehand.

Hostage Release

Gaza militants hand over eight more hostages

30-01-2025 11:17 Hundreds of Palestinians gathered in southern Gaza near the family home of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar Thursday to witness the ceasefire's third hostage-prisoner exchange.

MONETARY POLICY

Argentina weighs managed exchange rate once it lifts currency controls

16-12-2024 19:44 President Javier Milei's government is weighing whether to introduce a managed exchange rate regime — a “dirty float” — once it lifts its current foreign exchange controls in 2025.

MARKETS

Argentina ETF sees record inflows as traders buy Milei’s efforts

25-11-2024 20:53 An exchange-traded fund tracking Argentine stocks saw record inflows as Wall Street embraces President Javier Milei.

Pyramid schemes

Massive scams reported as 'Ponzidemia' grips Argentina

28-10-2024 14:49 A plague of pyramid schemes are sweeping the nation and draining the pockets of struggling Argentines, costing thousands of people their savings.

CAPITAL CONTROLS

Why Milei can’t lift currency controls any time soon

16-10-2024 12:15 Argentina has had strict currency controls in place for the past nine out of 13 years. President Javier Milei wants to get rid of them, but for now, he's sticking to the existing regime.

'CEPO' STAYS FOR NOW

Argentina isn't ready to lift currency controls, says Milei

10-10-2024 07:47 President says imposing a schedule for the removal of the “cepo” would be to act as a “central planner,” which goes against his ideology.

CRYPTOCURRENCY

Crypto platform suspends payments amid pyramid scheme claims

09-10-2024 09:12 Two alleged executives were actually paid actors.

MILEI IN NEW YORK

Milei lays out clearer currency path as his popularity begins to dip

24-09-2024 11:05 In his Wall Street debut, Javier Milei tells investors at the New York Stock Exchange that currency restrictions will be lifted “when the rate of inflation in the macroeconomic programme is zero.”

MILEI IN AMERICA

Milei in New York: Ringing the Wall Street bell, Elon Musk meet

23-09-2024 13:20 President Javier Milei delivers a speech to traders and invited guests at Wall Street ahead of eagerly awaited address to the United Nations General Assembly later today.

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.

IMF TALKS?

Argentina: No ‘formal’ talks with IMF over fresh funds

10-07-2024 18:18 Presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni says that “there are talks” ongoing but that no “formal negotiations” over a specific funding programme to help the nation remove currency controls are ongoing.

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

Milei under pressure for the first time

06-07-2024 05:59 If the doubts regarding Milei’s capacity to preside over Argentina were tied to governability risk, Caputo’s are connected to credibility risk: it’s difficult to see how the current policy framework can be sustainable in time.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

UNREST IN BOLIVIA

Growing discontent amid dollar, fuel shortages in resource-rich Bolivia

03-07-2024 10:58 Along with the fuel shortage in Bolivia, which tends to be chronic due to economic problems in imports, there is also a lack of dollars in the country and, consequently, an increase in the exchange rate in the parallel market.

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.

AGRICULTURE & ECONOMY

Argentina has surplus harvest, but farmers want more from Milei

22-06-2024 09:03 Farmers are delaying agricultural sales as they wait for President Javier Milei to eliminate taxes and exchange barriers.

CEPO NO MORE?

Milei attacks ‘loudmouth’ critics as he denies peso-dollar lag

15-05-2024 16:31 President attacks "loudmouth" economists critical of his exchange rate policy, defends economic programme and says Argentina is "very close" to removing currency controls.

CURRENCY CONTROLS

Argentina to offer bonds in first step to lift currency controls

26-04-2024 13:33 President Javier Milei's government readying a new instrument to allow companies to send dividends abroad, a first step to lift a cobweb of restrictions in its foreign-exchange market.

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.

FINANCE

Milei seeks US$15 billion for removal of currency controls

18-03-2024 11:24 President Javier Milei says he would open up restrictions on foreign currency immediately if he has US$15 billion; Money could be provided by the IMF, multilateral bodies, private investors and even “some countries."

APPETITE FOR FOREIGN CURRENCY

Dollar fever eases in Milei’s Argentina... good news?

11-03-2024 16:25 Appetite for dollars in Argentina as a shelter against inflation is falling under Milei’s government, but what from afar looks encouraging, smells of recession, declining imports and falling incomes.

FOCUS ON VENEZUELA

Venezuela calls in oil debt it once traded away for literal beans

26-02-2024 10:56 Impoverished and desperate for cash, Venezuela is trying to collect old debts from the Petrocaribe oil exchange programme.

Exchange rate woes

Investors bet Argentina crawling peg to speed up to 6% by April

22-02-2024 11:34 Investors see Argentina's crawling peg accelerating to six percent monthly by the start of the second quarter, according to peso futures data.

Economy

Why the Argentine peso is slipping through Milei’s fingers

18-01-2024 23:30 Despite Javier Milei's best efforts, the gap between blue and official rates remains, and the peso has plunged by about a third against the dollar this year.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

‘You are now free to buy dollars’ – Milei legalises trading at parallel exchange rate

21-12-2023 17:44 President asserts that “buying the 'blue' dollar is no longer a crime” as he legalises operations in 'cuevas,' or foreign exchange houses.

EMERGENCY MEASURES

The 10 ‘emergency economic measures’ announced by Caputo

12-12-2023 21:42 Economy Minister Luis Caputo announced the devaluation of the peso by over 50 percent to the dollar, as Javier Milei's new government seeks to tackle the country's deep economic woes.