Yuan sales further erode Argentina’s Central Bank reserves

Fears over the level of Argentina’s Central Bank reserves are escalating – with the increasing sale of yuans in recent days, international reserves were poised to perforate the US$26 billion floor of on Tuesday. 

Reserves stood at US$26.414 billion. So far this year, Argentina has lost over US$18 billion.

The Central Bank has continued to make exchange rate interventions in the framework of a government strategy not to yield to the pressures of operators to impose a devaluation on foreign trade.

As a result, reserves are being yielded daily, aggravating the negative levels of net reserves, which specialists estimate at over US$6 billion in the red. 

Ending last year at US$44.598 billion, reserves closed Tuesday at US$26.414 billion, dipping a further US$134 million. The official exchange rate was edged up 70 cents to 263.20 pesos per dollar. 

According to Portfolio Personal Inversiones (PPI), the Central Bank’s net reserves were already negative to the tune of over US$6.7 billion, falling US$15.422 billion from a peak of US$8.706 billion towards the end of last year after the first two editions of the “soy dollar.”

– TIMES/NA