Informal dollar reaches AR$497, Fernández and Massa blame “rumors”
In a rough session for local finance, the informal dollar has jumped by 7% during the day, and the currency exchange gap (brecha) exceeded 120%. The informal dollar exchange rate, known as the blue dollar, peaked at AR$497 before receding slightly following statements from Economy Minister Sergio Massa. The exchange gap is the difference between the official dollar exchange rate and the financial or informal (blue) dollars. “It’s not news, they’ve always done this,” said Fernández, who later wrote a Twitter thread to reflect his statements. — Alberto Fernández (@alferdez) April 25, 2023Massa published a thread about the rise of the informal dollar, saying that “an atypical situation involving rumors, versions, fake reports” had “an impact on financial instruments related to the US dollar”.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
April 25, 2023 22:54 UTC
Government negotiating lithium export deal with US
The government is moving forward with a bilateral agreement with the United States on Argentine lithium. It states that US$400 billion will be invested in the energy transition, as a result of which demand for lithium is expected to increase fourfold. There are currently two projects in production in Argentina that are under expansion, and another six under construction. Regarding production, it states that the U.S. lithium carbonate supply comes only from a mine in Nevada, so they needed to import it. In 2022, the destinations of Argentine lithium exports were China (42%), Japan (31%), and South Korea (13%).
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
April 25, 2023 17:24 UTC
‘Argentina, 1985’ scores five Platino Awards
Argentina, 1985, Santiago Mitre’s film about the prosecution team behind the landmark Trial of the Juntas, was the big winner on Saturday night at the Platino Awards, where it won five of the 14 categories it was nominated for, including Best Ibero-American Fiction Film. Mitre’s Oscar-nominated film also won Best Screenplay (Santiago Mitre and Mariano Llinás), Best Actor (Ricardo Darín), Best Art Direction (Micalea Saiegh), and the Platino Award for Film and Education in Values, which was received by producer Axel Kuschevatzky. Actor Alejandro Awada won Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Teleseries for his role in Amazon’s Iosi, the repentant spy. Another Spanish film, Cinco lobitos, won the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress awards for Laia Costa and Susi Sánchez, respectively. The actresses had previously shared the Spanish Goya award for Best Actress for the same film.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
April 25, 2023 04:00 UTC
Govt to discuss IMF deal modification in D.C. meeting this week
The group will be led by Economy Minister Sergio Massa’s chief advisor Leonardo Madcur and Vice Minister Gabriel Rubinstein. In 2022, the government and the IMF signed an Extended Fund Facility agreement after renegotiating the US$44 billion debt former President Mauricio Macri acquired in 2018. The deal included an economic program that Argentina must comply with in order to receive disbursements every three months, which are used to pay for the previous debt with the IMF. The goals established in the 2022 agreement include international reserve targets, which the Executive Board of the IMF relaxed by US$1.8 billion at the beginning of April. Sources have also said that Massa expects to receive payments from other multilateral organisms in the upcoming months, in order to increase the Central Bank reserves.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
April 25, 2023 01:59 UTC
Argentina seeks BRICS entry with China and Brazil meetings
In a bid to accelerate Argentina’s entry into the New BRICS Bank (NBD), Argentine Ambassador to China Sabino Vaca Narvaja met on Friday with its current director, former Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, as well as the new Chinese Foreign Minister, Qin Gang. The acronym BRICS refers to the economic alliance between five countries considered to be rising powers: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. At the “Chinese Modernization and the World” forum in Shanghai, attended by international businessmen and professors, Vaca Narvaja stressed the importance of the NBD. “As [Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva] said during his recent visit to China, why can’t we trade backed by our currency? Over the past few years, BRICS members have supported Argentina’s entry to the alliance, including explicit backing from the Chinese government.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
April 23, 2023 21:55 UTC
Pope Francis plans to visit Argentina in 2024
Pope Francis, who has not returned to his home country since he left for the Vatican a decade ago, revealed that he is planning to visit Argentina in 2024. “I always wanted to return,” Francis said in an interview with La Nación, published today. While he has not yet returned to Argentina, he has made multiple trips abroad, including Africa. On March, Pope Francis gave an interview in Infobae where he said that he expected to visit Argentina “after the elections,” but that it depends on many factors: “first, the my will, which is present – secondly, the sociopolitical situation,” he added. The Pope was meant to visit Argentina during a 2017 tour.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
April 23, 2023 18:07 UTC
Brazil's Lula doesn't want to 'please anyone' over Ukraine stance
Lula has been criticised in the West for suggesting Ukraine and Russia are to blame for the conflict that began when Moscow invaded its neighbour in February 2022. Last week he said the United States and European allies should stop supplying arms to Ukraine saying they were prolonging the war. “If you are not making peace, you are contributing to war,” said Lula. Lula arrived in Portugal on Friday for a five-day visit as he strives to improve foreign ties. Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who accompanied Lula at the news conference, said their countries’ stance on the war were different.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
April 23, 2023 06:09 UTC
Government misses IMF fiscal target
The government missed the first-quarter fiscal deficit target agreed with the International Monetary Fund by 56%. The government and the IMF signed an Extended Fund Facility agreement in 2022 after renegotiating the US$44 billion debt former President Mauricio Macri acquired in 2018. The fiscal deficit would have reached just 40% of the final Q1 figure if the government’s export duty collections had remained stable in real terms, meaning that it would have over-complied with the IMF’s targets, the report stated. Both Ecolatina and another consulting firm, the Argentine Center for Political Economy (CEPA), concluded that, in March, public expenditure was slashed by 17%. “It is worth recalling that another [waiver] will be asked for the international reserve target.”
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
April 23, 2023 03:35 UTC
Analysis: internal maneuvers and the dollar triggered Fernández’s withdrawal
The most voted candidates of each political space are the ones who formally compete in the general elections. The province of Buenos Aires is the largest electoral district in the country, representing 37% of the national electoral roll. Winning in the province of Buenos Aires is a fundamental step to reaching the presidency of the Nation. Why was a sector of the ruling party willing to separate the general elections in the province, which must elect a governor this year, from the presidential elections? Because according to some sectors, the current governor of the province of Buenos Aires, Axel Kicillof, has more chances to be reelected if Fernández is not on the ballot in the province of Buenos Aires.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
April 22, 2023 10:19 UTC
Uneven market reaction to Fernández’s withdrawal
Dollar uncertaintyThe parallel dollar exchange rates are continuing a particularly sharp upward trend that started this week and reachedleft the US currency at record highs. The blue-chip swap exchange rate is at AR$452, having closed yesterday at AR$4365.74. The informal dollar exchange rate, or “dólar blue” as it is popularly known, also saw a surge. The financial broker told the Herald that those bonds are still cheap and that the market is not expecting an aggressive restructuring with big removals. In its last review of the program, the IMF “relaxed” the reserve accumulation target due to the historic drought.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
April 21, 2023 23:13 UTC
Destitution threshold jumped by 9% in March
A family is considered to be in poverty if they earn less than the basic food basket plus services, known as the total basic basket. The year-on-year increase for the basic food basket and the total basic basket were 120.1% and 113.2% respectively. The figures for poverty and destitution are significantly higher than the general inflation rate for March, which totaled 7.7%, and year-on-year, which was 104.3%. During the first three months of the year, the basic food basket surged 30.6%, while March’s inflation increased by 21.7%. In their general inflation report, the INDEC said that the “foods and non-alcoholic beverages” had a 9.3% monthly hike, above general inflation.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
April 21, 2023 22:21 UTC
Central Bank raises interest rates, restricts official dollar access
The restrictionsOn the other hand, the Central Bank extended the timeframe in which it sells US dollars at the official rate to companies. The Central Bank will also start requiring previous authorization for intra-company debt payments in US dollars. The Central Bank said these measures postpone making US$2 billion in payments, which would further deplete its international reserves for 2023. The Central Bank is currently facing an international reserve scarcity crisis, the main cause of the surge in the parallel US dollar rates. Today, for the first time this week, the Central Bank recorded a positive balance, bringing in US$44 million.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
April 21, 2023 05:05 UTC
Brazil's govt to support riot enquiry after advisor scandal
Brazil’s Institutional Relations Minister Alexandre Padilha said on Thursday the government will support a congressional inquiry into the January 8 anti-democratic riots, in which supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed government buildings. Sources close the president said there was no doubt that Dias did not support or facilitate the invasion by supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro in any way. Dias was head of presidential security during Lula’s two previous terms. Padilha described claims the footage showed the government had facilitated the invaders’ entry as “an absurd conspiracy theory”. “The leaked footage brought in a new political fact so we will support the inquiry, which in my opinion will put an end to yet another conspiracy theory,” he added.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
April 20, 2023 14:28 UTC
Bond auction: government gets AR$227 billion
The Economy Ministry secured AR$227.13 billion in its bond auction today in the first round of April, where it faced maturities of AR$189.4 billion. “This is the auction with the third-highest number of bids so far this year,” Finance Secretary Eduardo Setti tweeted today. — Eduardo Setti (@EduardoSettiOk) April 19, 2023“Thus, the rollover of the private sector was 123%, while that of the public sector was 105%,” Setti said. “Of the total cash value awarded, 85% was from the private sector, while the remaining 15% was from the public sector. The IMF had also discouraged “overly onerous interest rates” — one of the bonds had a 130% annual interest rate.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
April 20, 2023 14:21 UTC
Five perfectly Argentine films at Bafici
A massive utopian project to move the Argentine capital to Patagonia in the 1980s. The Buenos Aires Independent Film Festival (Bafici), which kicks off today, offers more than 250 films from all over the world. BAFICI Section: Noches especiales (Special Nights)In 1986, President Raúl Alfonsín attempted to move the Argentine capital to the small city of Viedma, in Río Negro province, the heart of deserted Patagonia. But the one feature that would be imprinted in Argentine history ended up being the idea of transforming Viedma into the nation’s capital, a brand new city like an Argentine Brasilia. A champion of Argentine film preservation and promotion, his love for cinema is as contagious as his motto: Alegría sin fin!
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
April 19, 2023 21:32 UTC