After week of high turbulence, the Blue dollar takes a breather

Argentina’s currency fell sharply on the parallel market this week, with the blue dollar selling at an all-time high of 207 pesos on Thursday, just days ahead of key legislative elections. However, by Friday – the last business day before tomorrow’s vote – the dolár blue had taken a breather, dropping to 202 pesos. Meanwhile, … Read more

Agertina President accuses IMF of seeking to ‘impose austerity’

President Alberto Fernández has accused the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of seeking to “impose” a programme of “austerity” on Argentina that would limit future growth. Speaking in an interview with local radio station AM750, the Peronist leader confirmed that his government is still seeking a deal to restructure its US$44-billion debt with the multilateral lender, … Read more

Martín Guzmán

Markets react negatively to government’s IMF presentation

Argentine dollar bonds fell the most since September after Economy Minister Martín Guzmán criticised spending cuts proposed by the International Monetary Fund, highlighting the difficulties ahead in securing a new agreement. Notes maturing in 2041 dropped one cent to 32.8 cents on the dollar, the biggest decline since September 20, according to data compiled by … Read more

Blue Dollar soars to record high as New Year draws closer

Argentina’s currency plunged on Wednesday on the parallel market, with the ‘blue’ dollar hitting a record high of 209 pesos, marking a 103 percent gap with the official exchange rate of 108.16 per greenback The blue dollar has risen from 199 to 209 pesos per dollar over the past week, pressured by liquidity due to … Read more

IMF sees upside in delaying Argentina deal after October

Officials at the International Monetary Fund see some benefit in delaying a US$ 45-billion agreement with Argentina after the nation’s midterm election in October, with talks yielding little progress six months after they began, according to people familiar with the situation. While IMF negotiators prefer to hash out a deal with Argentina as soon as … Read more

Inflation data casts shadow over government’s target

Prices in February rose 3.6 percent from January, the INDEC national statistics bureau revealed Thursday, a slight deceleration on the preceding two months. Nevertheless, the steep monthly increase means that inflation totalled 7.8 percent in just the first two months of 2021 in Argentina. The news casts a shadow over President Alberto Fernández’s hopes of … Read more

More than 450 NGOs, groups condemn ‘obsolete’ EU-Mercosur trade deal

More than 450 civil society groups, associations and non-governmental organisations have united to call on nations to “abandon” the controversial EU-Mercosur trade deal. Underlining the strong opposition to the accord, as yet unratified, that is growing in Europe, hundreds of groups announced Tuesday they were uniting to form the Stop Ceta-Mercosur collective in a bid … Read more

Guzmán flies to United States for talks with IMF, investors

Economy Minister Martín Guzmán boarded a plane for New York on Wednesday night, ahead of a series of meetings with investors and officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the United States. The minister’s official agenda has not been released, but it is understood that talks with IMF officials over a new financing programme … Read more

Guzmán to hold talks with IMF in Washington on March 23-24

Economy Minister Martín Guzmán will meet with officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington in 10 days time, the multilateral lender confirmed Thursday. “We continue to actively, constructively engage with the Argentine authorities as they work on laying out their economic plan that could be supported by a Fund programme, said IMF spokesperson … Read more

No Bolsonaro in BA – Government takes Mercosur ceremony online

It looks like Jair Bolsonaro will not be steeping foot in Buenos Aires anytime soon. Argentina has suspended a historic ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the Mercosur regional trade bloc, due to be held later this month, the Foreign Ministry said Saturday. President Alberto Fernández and his counterparts from Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia were … Read more