Next week Sergio Massa will complete three months at the helm of the Palacio de Hacienda. The minister notes the calm on exchange rates that is spreading in the market as a triumph: despite private forecasts that predicted a jump in alternative dollars in October, last Friday the Italians closed at $ 290eight pesos in less than 90 days ago, while cash with liqui went up by 10 and reached $ 305.

The dollar thus walks on a lifeline other than inflation, which is preparing to close the first three months of the former Speaker of the House with an increase of 20%, which will bring the index to 100% for the whole year.

With the soybean dollar and tighter import restrictions, Massa managed to stop the bleeding of Central Bank reserves. But until now it hasn’t made them grow: October closed with net foreign currency sales of US $ 360 million and in the cumulative of the year the purchases are $ 2 billion less compared to the same period in 2021.

Last week Massa scored two points in favor: the approval of the 2023 budget and the closing of the agreement with the Paris Club, which cancels the deadlines of debts and opens the doors to companies operating in the country to seek financing abroad. for infrastructure investments.

The attacker Massa tackles to the ball of debt in pesos. From the economic team they try to lower the tone of the matter. “We are not worried about the pesos debt. We have a lot of tools,” they say.

By dint of raising rates, the government managed to lower the pressure on dollars and to finance itself without the Central having to accelerate the issuing machine. Massa is now working on a scheme that will allow him to secure pesos loans for the next quarter.

In recent auctions, the market has begun to show signs of saturation. From GMA Capital they mark that in each of the last four races of the year he must get $ 221 billion more to finance the deficit. In addition, maturities have exceeded $ 1.69 trillion in the past two months.

As the peso heats up, access to the dollar for the next few months also risks becoming more complicated.

The main reason is the drought affecting the wheat crop and which would be reduced more 2.5 billion dollars foreign currency income for Argentina.

“What wheat is missing is corn, which has better prices and generates more tax revenues,” they point out to the Palacio de Hacienda. In the ministry they worked in a program to assist more than 1000 producers who had compromised the sale and now have no grain to deliver,

As for the pricing issue, Economy will persist with the agreements. The signing of the agreement for the freezing of textile prices, which are the highest in the management of Alberto Fernández, is expected to be signed next week. An agreement has already been closed with major brands operating in shopping centers to freeze prices until December 1st.

This week they will close a similar deal with yarn manufacturers, with a block for one month and then updates at the official exchange rate.

Meanwhile, the minister discussed with Vice President Cristina Kirchner about implementing measures to restore income. It has already been launched $ 54,000 bonus in two payments from Anses for people without declared income and without any aid from the state.

what follows will be a fixed amount for registered employees. To give the last brushes to this measure, Massa will meet the Minister of Labor, Kelly Olmos next Tuesday.

Massa is willing to take up the threat he wielded in the midst of the conflict with the tire industry trade unionists: open imports to increase supply and bring prices down. There are at least three sectors that the minister has in his sights and where he has found that they sell in the captive domestic market at higher prices than abroad. Petrochemical inputs would be on that list.

AQ