Despite the ‘dollar clamp’ and other obstacles to purchase the US currency in Argentina, the number of Argentines travelling abroad increased by 8% last March in comparison to the same period the year before although they spent 6.2% less than in 2012, it was reported by the National Statistics Bureau (INDEC).
Argentina will use 2.3 billion dollars of central bank reserves this year to meet payments to international financing organizations and on its official bilateral debt, according to the Official Gazette.
With insistent rumours of imminent measures to try and control the value of the US dollar in Argentina, Central Bank Governor Mercedes Marcó del Pont, stressed that the country has more than 40 billion dollars in reserves to manage the foreign exchange market avoiding sharp changes.
In contrast with the 0.5% inflation reported by the Argentine government’s controversial stats office, Indec, the index based on private estimates and released by opposition lawmakers climbed to 1.23% with an accumulated 25.27% in the last twelve months.
Another Argentine province, Formosa announced that it would be repaying in Pesos its dollar-denominated bonds (FORM3) issued under local law, at an exchange rate of 4.81 Pesos per dollar.
The Argentine central bank confirmed on Wednesday that there is no money exchange restrictions for the federal government or provinces to purchase US dollars to honour public debt issued offshore.
The foreign exchange clamp in Argentina is reaching the provinces, one of which at least was unable to honor maturing bonds in dollars and made the payment in Argentine Pesos.
Argentina has “stronger financial support than other countries” and will adopt tough policies to guard the nine years of economic achievements, said Economy Deputy Finance Minister Axel Kicillof addressing the Lower House Budget and Finance Committee to discuss the main guidelines for next year’s budget.
The Argentine Central bank has issued a new 100 Pesos bill to honour the figure of Eva Duarte de Perón, and a 2 Pesos coin commemorating the thirtieth anniversary of the landing of Argentine troops in the Malvinas Islands.
The Argentine financial deficit soared to 13.5 billion Pesos in the first seven months of the year and could have reached 25.9bn Pesos had it not been for extraordinary resources from Social Security funds and the Central bank, according to the numbers published in the last release from the Central Bank.