Argentina's Economy Minister Sergio Massa Wednesday met with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath to discuss the flexibilization of the reserve's goals in addition to a US$ 5.3 billion disbursement to be announced early next week, it was reported in Washington.
Argentina's Economy Minister Sergio Massa and his aides held a working lunch Wednesday with a group of businessmen from banks, insurance companies, and investment funds, during which the new measures adopted to control a ballooning exchange rate between the local currency and the US dollar were outlined.
With the informal exchange rate between the Argentine peso and the US dollar known as blue going up AR$ 8, and reaching a new record high of AR$ 394, Economy Minister Sergio Massa is planning a set of measures to reverse that trend. The new package is to be conveyed to businessmen and bankers over breakfast Wednesday before being announced.
Following seemingly endless power cuts in the Buenos Aires area, Federal Economy Minister Sergio Massa ordered the intervention of suppliers Edesur and appointed Jorge Ferraresi as the company's new controller for a period of 180 days.
Argentina's Central Bank (BCRA) Thursday decided to raise the benchmark interest rate by 300 basis points to 78% annually, it was announced in Buenos Aires the day after the INDEC said the Consumer Price Index for the month of February ad grew 6.6% for a year-on-year inflation of 102.5 %, the highest in the last 32 years.
The Government of Argentina announced during the weekend the creation of yet another foreign currency exchange rate; one to be applied particularly to wine exports, effective next month.
About 40% of Argentine households were reported to have been left powerless Wednesday afternoon amid unprecedented heat following several failures in the interconnected system stemming from a fire that disturbed a 500 kw high voltage line that connects Campana with General Rodríguez in the province of Buenos Aires, according to local media.
Argentina's Economy Minister Sergio Massa and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva held a bilateral meeting this weekend at the Indian city of Bengaluru where arrangements were being made for the G20 Summit of heads of state and government later this year.
Argentina's Superminister of Economy Sergio Massa met Thursday with colleagues from hosts India and also of China during his stay in the Indian city of Bengaluru, the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka, where arrangements are being made by finance ministers and central bank presidents for the G20 Summit of heads of state and government later this year.
In a country where the exchange rate between the local currency and the US dollar varies from one counter to the other and hinges on the type of operation involved beyond the exchange, Argentina's official rate against Friday pierced for the first time the symbolic AR$ 200 / US$ 1 threshold at private banks, closing at AR$ 191.25 (purchase) / AR$ 199.25 (sale) at the Banco Nación.