The International Trade Union Conference, ITUC’s affiliates in Argentina, CGT, CTA-A and CTA-T have announced a general strike for 24-25 September in opposition to expected sweeping austerity measures being developed by the government and the International Monetary Fund.
Argentina's peso currency fell 3.51% on Thursday to close at a new record low of 39.9 per U.S. dollar, as market confidence ebbs away despite President Mauricio Macri's efforts to reassure investors. Dollar demand had risen on Thursday due to high liquidity sparked by an auction of treasury notes, traders said.
Argentina says consumer prices rose 3.9% in August, the highest rate so far this year. That brings the 12-month nationwide inflation rate to 34.4%, one of the world's highest.
Officials from the International Monetary Fund are in Argentina as part of talks to strengthen and accelerate a crisis loan package, the global lender said Wednesday. The IMF and Buenos Aires agreed in June on a three-year, US$50 billion rescue lending programme but Argentina has since asked for a more rapid disbursement.
Labor unions and social groups blocked streets in downtown Buenos Aires on Wednesday, with more marches planned over the days ahead over austerity measures proposed by the government and backed by the International Monetary Fund. Protesters are angry about the belt-tightening policies, which are cutting services to low-income Argentines already walloped by inflation of 31 percent and climbing.
Argentina's central bank kept its key interest rate on Wednesday at 60%, one of the highest in the world, following a surprise hike two weeks ago after the peso plunged. Central bank officials said in a statement that inflation accelerated in August and continues to do so September, citing high-frequency data.
Argentine equities and the Peso continued on Tuesday their slide amid global trade tensions, uncertainty about Argentina's 2019 fiscal budget, talks between the government and the International Monetary Fund and the political situation in Brazil, which together with China are Argentina's main trade partners
Mauricio Macri, president of Argentina, Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway and Hamdi Ulukaya, founder, chairman and CEO of Chobani and founder of the Tent Partnership for Refugees, will be honored by the Atlantic Council with the Global Citizen Awards, during a ceremony on the evening of September 24 in New York, NY. All three distinguished honorees have confirmed attendance and will speak at the event.
Argentine equities and the peso both lost ground on Monday as analysts said intervention in the foreign exchange market by the nation's central bank may prove less successful than originally hoped.
Argentina raised the price of biodiesel used in domestic fuel mixes in response to a sharp devaluation in the Peso currency and new taxes on primary exports, the government said in its official gazette on Monday.