
Argentina lived on Thursday another day in which the dollar rebounded and the country risk exceeded 1000 points. President Mauricio Macri criticized the short-term view of the markets and the Central Bank (BCRA) had to intervene by positioning the interest rate at 70% and diverting the futures market to contain the demand on the currency, preventing it from reaching the maximum accorded of 51.45 pesos.

Argentina sold US$ 60 million in the foreign exchange market on Monday, traders said, marking the start of peso-buying program approved by the International Monetary Fund and aimed at bolstering government finances.

In Uruguay, the dollar traded at noon on the state bank Banco Republica (Brou) board at $ 33.20 for the purchase and $ 34.60 for the sale, 45 cents above the close price on Tuesday. On the board of private exchanges, the currency to the public came to sell at $ 34.80 and $ 34.90.

Argentina’s central bank has sufficient dollar firepower to deal with a spike in demand for the greenback if uncertainty over the country’s upcoming presidential election prompts another run on the peso, bank sources said on Friday.

Argentina’s central bank said it bought US$ 50 million at an average price of 37.597 Pesos per dollar in the foreign exchange market on Tuesday, part of its effort to maintain the currency in a trading band agreed with the International Monetary Fund.

The International Monetary Fund has completed its second review of Argentina, the fund said on Monday, paving the way for the country to receive US$7.6 billion under a US$ 56.3 billion financing deal.

Argentina’s central bank said it would nearly double its currency swap deal with China, bringing the total to 130 billion Yuan (US$ 18.7 billion), as Beijing looks to expand its influence in the recession-struck country. Central Bank President Guido Sandleris, who was in China finalizing the agreement, said that the deal for 70 billion Yuan would be expanded by 60 billion Yuan, according to a bank spokesman.

Argentina’s peso slipped on Tuesday, a day after the central bank’s new governor reassured the public that its approach to taming the country’s rocky economy would be sustainable over the medium term. The peso closed 0.46% weaker at 36.65 per U.S. dollar. The currency has fallen 0.30% against the dollar this week, although it has climbed 12.63% since the beginning of the month.

The resignation of Luis Caputo to the Presidency of the Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA), which has been reflected with surprise by the international media, occurs amid the trip of the Argentine President, Mauricio Macri, to New York to attend the Assembly General of the UN and with the mission of restoring the confidence of the international market in the Argentine economy. His predecessor, Guido Sandleris, receives a Central Bank when it is about to close an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Argentine Peso reacted strongly against the US dollar on Thursday following on an abundant private supply of greenbacks to satisfy demand, which kept the Central Bank out of the market for the first time since the beginning of the month. The dollar fell 2.8% and ended trading below 39 Pesos.