The central bank was able to buy this Monday US $ 60 million in the foreign exchange market, so as to extend his series of positive results for his interventions. he did it to 11 wheels the end of the soybean 3 dollar program, on a day when agri-exporters liquidated $78.8 million.
After the battery of measures announced on Sunday, the body chaired by Miguel Pesce formalized the decision to raise the economy’s reference rate by 600 basis points at half wheelso that go from 91% to 97% of the nominal annual rate. Although changes were expected in the way it intervenes in the official market, the Central Bank has let the exchange rate work almost identically to the previous Mondays.
“As at the beginning of the week, the wholesale exchange rate adjustment compensates for the days without activity due to the weekend,” said operator Gustavo Quintana, of PR Corredores de Cambios. Last week, despite the fragility of the exchange rate front and the acceleration of inflation, the body had already set in motion one foot on the brake on its daily pace to bring it from 7.3% in the first week of May to 6.1% per month on Friday.
The unknown factor for the market is whether, after what the Palazzo delle Finanze announced over the weekend, the Central Bank has increased this daily rate of devaluation to take over prices or if, on the contrary, it has slowed it down again to use it against the dollar “like an anchor” in the rated run,
“The lower rate of slide of the wholesale dollar, perhaps in an attempt to moderate the pressures on accelerating inflation, would have negative effects on the deterioration of competitiveness and reserve dynamics, since It would only increase the demand from importers”warned the economist Gustavo Ber.
On the road, the blue dollar advanced $9, closing at $483. The informal exchange rate hike was to be expected after Friday’s dismal inflation data, the worst since the Alberto Fernández era. Last month, inflation was also surprisingly negative when it was announced on a Friday and the following Monday the blue dollar responded with an $8 hike, to go from $400 to $408in what was the start of a short but vigorous race against the weight.
That time the Central Bank had delayed the rate hike: recently validated an increase of 1,000 basis points almost a week after the March CPI was known and after blue hit $500. Now Massa didn’t want history to repeat itself and tried to work out a package of nine measures to change market prospects. Anyway, the only one actually made official was the increase in the BCRA rate.
AQ
Source: Clarin
