Argentina's Finance Minister Alfonso Prat Gay said on Thursday that the first day in the market without the dollar restrictions imposed by the previous administration, had been positive and as they had planned or expected. Compared to the previous multi-tier system, the dollar appreciated in the range of 25% against the Peso in the unified market.
Argentina announced on Wednesday it was lifting currency controls and would allow the peso to float when markets open on Thursday, setting the stage for a devaluation, following pledges by new president Mauricio Macri for reforms to spur economic growth.
Argentina on Tuesday halved the daily amount of dollars companies can transfer abroad without authorization, currency traders said, while the country's insurance regulator put new limits on the amount of hard currency assets insurers can hold.
In what promises to be a week of surprises as the Argentine government unfolds measures to contain the price of the US dollar, this Monday the peso held relatively stable after last week's sharp devaluation. While the official rate remained unchanged at 8.01 Pesos for a greenback, in the parallel market it climbed to 12.15 Pesos.
On Tuesday, one day after resuming her Executive duties, Argentine president Cristina Fernandez accepted the resignation of the most emblematic of the Kirchner-couple bullying tactics, a true 'K soldier' who has been on the job since 2005 and was expected to step down with the lady in 2015.
Despite a full-fledged crackdown on the 'cave-exchanges' in the financial sector of Buenos Aires the 'parallel' US dollar ended Wednesday trading as on the previous day at 10.05 Argentine Pesos while the official rate stood at 5.82 Pesos (buying price) and 5.87 Pesos (selling price).
The US dollar in Buenos Aires reached on Tuesday 10 Argentine Pesos (buying price) and 10.05 pesos (selling price) in the informal market, 15 cents higher compared to its last closing price, pushed by the tourist sector, and as the government crackdown on the so called city “exchange caves” eased up.
Uruguay president José 'Pepe' Mujica was again ironic in praising Argentines when he stated that the Argentine population is capable of eluding the Pope and even the United Nations in their quest to buy US dollars and get them out of the country, in spite of current exchange controls.
Several Argentine opposition groups have started publishing their own GDP index, (as they do with inflation) based on the average of data processed by private consultants which are exposed to the intimidation of President Cristina Fernandez administration officials.
Uruguay extended for another twelve months the VAT bonus for those tourists who pay for purchases, lodging and rents with debit cards. The measure was announced this week by Deputy cabinet chief Diego Canepa following a full ministerial meeting and in anticipation of the coming 2013/14 summer season.