MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina to lift all currency exchange restrictions “soon”

October's inflation, to be announced on Wednesday by Indec, is projected to stand above 2%

While Argentina's Central Bank (BCRA) announced the “imminent” removal of all remaining controls on foreign exchange transactions, the South American country's National Institute of Statistics and Census (Indec) is about to report October's inflation on Wednesday. Most experts predict it will be above 2%.

Speaking at the Argentina Fintech Forum, BCRA Vice President Vladimir Werning outlined the BCRA's monetary policy vision and financial system outlook, assuring the audience that the last restrictions “will soon be eliminated” as the economic plan progresses.

The primary hurdle currently awaiting removal is the so-called “cross restriction,” which prevents simultaneous trading in the official exchange market and the financial market. Werning noted this restriction had to be temporarily reinstated before the last elections, but confirmed its elimination is now imminent.

He framed the initial lifting of currency controls—the “collapse of the economic Berlin Wall,” as he termed it—as a necessary paradigm shift to grant Argentines financial freedom. Werning stressed that the current administration prioritized individual access to the official market, criticizing the previous “asymmetrical” regime where “large companies could access dollars at the official exchange rate, while individuals could not.”

Werning also urged the private sector to move beyond the old scheme, which required significant effort in “arbitrage” and “rulos” (currency swaps), and instead focus on generating “real value and long-term productive solutions.”

The official further highlighted the need to strengthen domestic savings and reduce dependence on external savings, as BCRA is promoting “currency competition” by giving the peso financial roles it previously lacked, while also granting the dollar transaction capacity. Since the start of the current administration, loans to the private sector have reportedly doubled, driven by policies designed to improve transparency and competition in the financial system.

Werning's remarks on exchange rate normalization closely follow Economy Minister Luis Toto Caputo's announcement that the government would be sending a tax amnesty bill to Congress to encourage the repatriation and use of “mattress dollars” (undeclared savings). Werning's optimistic outlook on exchange rate liberalization comes as private consulting firms project that the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October, set to be released by the Indec on Wednesday, will again exceed 2%. The Central Bank's Market Expectations Outlook (REM) projected October inflation at 2.2%, while private consulting firms forecast year-on-year inflation around 29.3%.

In this scenario, Minister Caputo defended the current exchange rate system, predicting it will provide predictability and allow monthly inflation to drop below 1% by mid-2026.