Argentine Peso slid another 2.18% and the Central bank sold US$ 350 million in reserves

Wednesday, September 5th 2018 - 08:16 UTC

Full article 3 comments

The central bank sold US$ 358 million in reserves at auctions on Tuesday to help prop up the peso, which nevertheless fell 2.18% to 39.65 to the U.S. dollar

Argentina’s peso slid further on Tuesday as investors reacted with skepticism to president Mauricio Macri’s plans. Many worry he will not be able to push reforms through a restive Congress amid growing frustration on the streets of Buenos Aires.

“It’s hard for the market to believe that a country like Argentina can hit its new fiscal targets over the short term,” said Sebastian Cisa, with Buenos Aires-based brokerage SBS.

Meanwhile the opposition Peronist movement held a meeting of congress members and provincial governors to analyze the situation and sent a message to Macri: “we want to know about the discussions in Washington, and not read about them in the media”. Besides they decided to suspend all budget discussions in Congress until the full agreement with the IMF is known.

In Buenos Aires the Argentine central bank sold US$ 358 million in reserves at auctions on Tuesday to help prop up the peso, which nevertheless fell 2.18% to 39.65 to the U.S. dollar. Last week alone, the currency lost 16% of its value.

Likewise Argentina's Merval stock index fell 3.72%, with traders citing doubts about the government's ability to make good on new fiscal plans as Latin America's third-largest economy slides into recession this year.

Argentina's current IMF deal includes fiscal targets that Argentina says it wants to strengthen as part of its effort to gain the market's trust.

Categories: Economy, Argentina.

Tags: Argentina, Argentine peso, Buenos Aires, Central Bank, Congress, devaluation, economic crisis, economy, International Monetary Fund, Mauricio Macri, Nicolas Dujovne, US dollar.

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Jonaz_BsAs
Enrique Massot:
“filled their pockets with Argentina's wealth” The coffers were completely empty when Macri came to power and it's simply impossible that they have stolen anything in the vincinity of what the Kirchner stole - their pillage was almost a world record (!)

With regards to being business friendly, Macri's reign has been anything but. If you still believe so, you put emotions above facts. The tax burden in Argentina is at a record high and the private sector is being completely crushed. Just look at the number of PYMEs that have been embargoed by AFIP: Record number under Macri. Business friendly my *ss.

José Luis Espert says it best: Macrism was Kirchnerism with good manners.
From a macro economical perspective, the only thing that changed under Macri was that Argentina got access to international finance which was used very unwisely: To pay public wages. Now that investment banks are pulling out of emerging markets due to the new risk/return panorama, Argentina has been caught with her pants down, once again.

The incompetence of the Macri gov't is embarrassing and by not firing the entire economical team, he shows he's simply not up to task.
Sep 05th, 2018 - 08:34 pm +2
Enrique Massot
How ironic.

The same who celebrated the arrival to the Argentine presidency of a business-friendly, free-market ideologist and filled their pockets with Argentina's wealth during an unprecedented financial gambling operation for 33 months in a row are now the ones pushing Macri under the bus.

A sorry end for a government to be remembered for the record speed at which it destroyed the country's economy.

A debt audit must be the first act of the new government. Those who gambled with the country's credit card must be exposed and punished.
Sep 05th, 2018 - 08:01 pm -2
Enrique Massot
@Jonaz

”...it's simply impossible that (Macrists) have stolen anything in the vincinity of what the Kirchner stole - their pillage was almost a world record (!)”

Wow. I did not know that. Could you please provide details of judgements or sentences regarding stolen money by Kirchnerist officials?

Judges have been busy investigating Kirchnerists - even CFK - for the last few years, therefore I imagine a world-record looting must've been punished accordingly - something I would celebrate as no government should steal public money with impunity.
Sep 08th, 2018 - 01:08 am -2

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