As a direct consequence of political uncertainty ahead of the primary elections to be held by the different Argentine political parties on Sunday, the US dollar in the black market climbed 5 Pesos during the first seven working days of September, reaching 187 Argentine Pesos.
Argentina's country risk reached a maximum of 1,417 basis points on Tuesday, reflecting investors' fears about the behavior of the domestic economy and doubts about the international situation of the markets, traders told Reuters.
Argentina’s peso was battered on Wednesday as the central bank sold US$ 367 million of its dollar reserves in a second consecutive day of heavy intervention aimed at controlling the currency’s fall. Likewise the country risk rose 135 basis points to 2,125, its highest in 14 years, before partially recovering, according to the JP Morgan Emerging Markets Bond Index Plus.
Argentine President Mauricio Macri said that monthly inflation would accelerate to 3% in August following a slump in the peso, as the central bank intervened heavily in the market on Tuesday to prop up the local currency.
Latin American stocks and currencies surged on Tuesday with a dovish boost from the European Central Bank and positive headlines from the U.S.-China trade tensions boosting sentiment.
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.
Argentine economy Minister Nicolás Dujovne stated that political uncertainty ahead of the upcoming presidential election this October is the main factor for increases in Argentina's country risk and instability on the exchange markets.
The Argentine Peso slid to all-time lows against the dollar as concerns about inflation, weak growth and October's presidential election weighed. The currency has lost 14% so far this year and the weakness raises fears of a repeat of the currency crisis of 2018 when the Peso lost half its value against the dollar.