The central bank sold $ 200 million this Thursday.
This Thursday the Central Bank sold $ 200 million to meet market demand among rumors that there will be more restrictions on imports. Demand also grew due to the increase in energy and gas purchases abroad.
In three days, Central had to sell $ 400 million. It sold $ 60 million on Monday and $ 140 million on Wednesday. This is what they do so far in June ahead a red close to 350 million dollars.
The operator Gustavo Quintana explained that, according to market sources, “the payments for energy and fuel imports have now been in the order of 180 million US dollars. The lower contribution of the agro-export sector also explains the strong sales. of the Central in the last two days this week “.
With these numbers, the Government risks not achieving the objectives agreed with the Monetary Fund in terms of accumulating reserves already having to ask the agency for a waiver.
Net reserves are around today 3.7 billion dollars, according to the way in which the consultants calculate them, as the Central Bank does not officially communicate such data. Net reserves are those that the Central Bank can dispose of, discounting the reserve requirements on bank deposits and the swap with China.
According to the agreement, they should close the first half of the year a net accumulation of US $ 4,100 million compared to the December 2021 level, estimated at $ 2.3 billion according to the Fund’s methodology.
So, to reach those 6,400 million dollars, there would be about 2,700 million dollars left and until the end of June there are only nine wheels left, so purchases are expected to exceed $ 300 million per day.
While the liquidations of exporters remain firm – they already exceed the 15 billion dollars so far this year – the Central has not been able to earn foreign exchange due to the surge in demand. During this period, the monetary authority added a favorable balance of just around $ 750 million, while last year it had pocketed $ 6,179 million in the same period.
This is a consequence of the strong demand from importers, especially to cover the higher energy costs. In the first part of the year, these costs are estimated to have increased by nearly $ 2,000 million compared to last year.
Market data indicate this the outflow of dollars for the energy category increases by 200% compared to a year ago and represents a quarter of the payment of total imports.
Add to this the higher dollar card expenses of Argentines traveling abroad or making purchases in dollars. last month they left $ 500 million just like this.
Between January and April left $ 2,009 million in dollars of cards, a figure four times higher than that of the same period last year (574 million dollars).
This problem is amplified because tourists arriving in Argentina prefer to sell tickets in blue and take around $ 215 per dollarbefore liquidating them at the office and keeping only US $ 124.
rate increase
This Thursday the government made a series of announcements to try to change the economic climate. In addition to the segmentation of electricity and gas tariffs, there is an increase in the reference tariffs of the Central Bank.
“The Board of Directors of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) has decided today to increase the annual nominal interest rate of the letters of liquidity (Leliq) to 28 days by 300 basis points, going from 49% to 52%“, expressed the monetary authority in a statement.“
Therefore, retail term deposits of up to $ 10 million now have a minimum rate of 53% per year.
But there are also versions circulating imports would be further limited and that there may also be measures affecting the paper dollar.
AQ
Annabella Quiroga
Source: Clarin
