S&P said on Friday it may lower Argentina's long-term foreign currency rating from its current B+ grade, which is four notches below investment grade -- and on par with Turkey, Greece and Fiji. The ratings company cited the risk of worsening creditworthiness and exchange rate volatility as potential threats to the economic adjustment measures undertaken by Mauricio Macri’s administration.
Argentina’s beleaguered peso stabilized on Friday as the central bank said it would auction a large amount of dollar reserves, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued a strong statement of support for President Mauricio Macri’s government.
While the foreign exchange market in Argentina experienced a chaotic Thursday with no ceiling for the US dollar as locals dumped their Argentine pesos, the Argentine stock market witnessed another strong increase with the Merval index up 5.3% reaching 26.754,85 points, boosted mainly by the oil industry stocks.
The Argentine Peso plummeted 15.6% to a new record on Thursday, and ended trading at 39.87 after having reached almost 42 Pesos to the US dollar in mid afternoon. This follows on the Wednesday which also witnessed the Argentine currency slide 7% to the greenback.
Argentina's Peso suffered its biggest one-day slide in almost three years on Wednesday after the central bank sold reserves for a second straight day and the president asked the International Monetary Fund for early release of standby funds.
Argentina re-launched a one-year-old agreement between the government, companies and workers to drive competition and spur development in the Vaca Muerta shale play, the government said in a statement.
Argentina’s central bank auctioned a total of US$ 200 million of its reserves in two separate currency auctions on Tuesday after the peso hit new lows, the monetary authority said in a statement.
Argentina's beef exports could double in 2018 for a total of US$ 1.8 billion thanks to increased Chinese demand and a sharp devaluation of the peso currency, according to analysts and industry experts.
Argentina’s economy is expected to contract 1% in 2018, but grow by at least 1.5% next year, Minister Nicolas Dujovne told reporters on Monday. Dujovne said the government was maintaining its fiscal deficit target of 2.7% of GDP for full-year 2018. The government also expects a current account deficit of 3% of GDP in 2019, he said.
United States based seabed survey company Ocean Infinity hopes to begin searching for the missing Argentine submarine ARA San Juan (S-42) in September. The announcement was made by Argentine defense minister Oscar Aguad.