Argentina

• Saturday, April 11th 2020 - 10:18 UTC

  YPF slashes oil production 50% as consumption slumps and depots are overflowing

  

  Argentina’s state-held energy firm YPF slashed by 50% the oil production from its key development area in the vast Vaca Muerta shale play this week due to tumbling fuel demand in Argentina’s lockdown, local news outlet Rio Negro reports.

• Saturday, April 11th 2020 - 10:08 UTC

  Argentina extends lockdown in urban areas until April 27

  

  Argentina will extend until April 27 the lockdown it imposed last month to control the spread of the coronavirus, President Alberto Fernandez said in a televised address on Friday, adding that the measure would be applied only in major cities.

• Thursday, April 9th 2020 - 09:46 UTC

  Argentine food exports face a drop in demand and prices

  

  The United Nations has warned of an impending food shortage due to the coronavirus pandemic as major exporters such as Argentina find it increasingly difficult to sell their produce.

• Tuesday, April 7th 2020 - 08:59 UTC

  Argentina beef exports to the EU and China plunge

  

  Market reports suggest that Argentine beef shipments to the European Union have reduced to almost zero amid the global coronavirus pandemic. Sales to China, the main buyer, have dropped below 2019 levels.

• Monday, April 6th 2020 - 10:17 UTC

  Argentine authorities allow cruise M/V Ushuaia crew members ashore Argentine authorities allow cruise M/V Ushuaia crew members ashore

  

  An Argentine federal judge lifted precautionary measures impeding the access and docking at Mar del Plata port of a cruise vessel with 37 crewmembers which were originally believed to include some positive cases of COVID-19.

• Monday, April 6th 2020 - 08:50 UTC

  Argentina postpones payments of bonds issued under local law, some US$ 10bn

  

  Argentina is postponing payments on up to US$ 10 billion debt (interests and capital) that was issued under local law until the end of the year, the government said in a decree late on Sunday, in a bid to relieve pressure over looming foreign currency payments.

• Saturday, April 4th 2020 - 09:18 UTC

  Chaos in Argentine banks as crowds tried to collect government assistance

  

  Argentines left their homes in droves as banks reopen their branches to give out government assistance. Thousands of pensioners and citizens who receive government welfare lined up outside banks to get their monthly payments. Branches, which have been closed since a nationwide lockdown began March 20, reopened Friday so that citizens who can't receive the payments on debit could receive the cash.

• Saturday, April 4th 2020 - 09:05 UTC

  Moody's downgrades Argentina's credit rating

  

  Moody's downgraded Argentina’s credit rating on Friday, cutting it to Ca from Caa2 in a move that reflects the firm’s expectation that private creditors will incur losses as a result of the government’s efforts to restructure its sovereign debt.

• Saturday, April 4th 2020 - 08:08 UTC

  World Bank US$ 35 million emergency loan for Argentina to combat coronavirus

  

  The World Bank Board of Directors today approved a US$ 35 million emergency loan to support the Argentine government efforts to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health system through the procurement of medical supplies and equipment. This financing forms part of a World Bank fast track package of up to US$ 14 billion to help countries cope with the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Saturday, April 4th 2020 - 07:21 UTC

  500th anniversary of first mass in Argentina was celebrated in Rio Gallegos

  

  On Wednesday, April first, the Bishop of Río Gallegos, Bishop Jorge García Cuerva, presided over a Eucharistic celebration in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the first Mass celebrated on what would later be Argentine soil.