News of market

Key LNG buyer Argentina faces possible glut amid warmer winter

23-06-2023 00:52 An unusually warm winter in the southern hemisphere is threatening to saddle Argentina with a glut of liquefied natural gas.

Living with inflation

Finding treasure among waste at Buenos Aires' central market

19-06-2023 10:15 As runaway inflation slashes spending power and the price of fruit and vegetables soar, citizens are improvising ways to make ends meet.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

Analysts in Argentina forecast 148.9% inflation in 2023

10-06-2023 08:45 Latest Central Bank survey of market expectations produces 148% estimate for inflation in 2023 – a 22-point hike on previous forecast.

CURRENCY WOES

In distorted Buenos Aires rental market, it's dollar vs peso

02-06-2023 10:15 Renting in pesos and on a long-term basis is a titanic task in the capital, where temporary and dollar-denominated supply dominates the market.

Lithium in Latin America

Emerging lithium supplier Argentina says it’s close to US deal under IRA

24-05-2023 09:41 Argentina, one of the world’s fastest-growing lithium producers, says it could soon gain access to the US market.

BLOOMBERG

Chile, one of the world’s lithium leaders, looks like a shakier source

28-04-2023 12:28 The state plans to take control in Chile, which boasts unmatched reserves of the battery metal.

BLOOMBERG - OPINION

Eduardo Porter: Why Wall Street should like Latin America’s left

08-02-2023 09:22 The Latin American left does a better job than the right delivering on one of Wall Street’s favourite metrics: stock market returns.

INVESTMENT IN ARGENTINA

2023: Interesting challenges for investors in the year to come

25-01-2023 12:56 Having a global vision helps us understand that there are economic problems that transcend borders and the mechanisms used to solve them have consequences in different geographies.

Bull vs. bear

Is it Massa, the bull market, or are we about to implode again?

14-01-2023 06:25 We are not walking on the edge of the precipice, but we’re still awfully close, and a small breeze could be enough to destabilise us.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

EXCHANGE MARKET

Argentina’s black-market peso slumps to record ahead of holidays

29-12-2022 15:33 Argentina's black market exchange rate plunged to a record low this week, with the blue dollar hitting 357 pesos per greenback.

Qatar 2022 World Cup

Argentina fans in Doha protest over World Cup final tickets

16-12-2022 11:29 Argentina fans staged a second day of demonstrations Friday outside a Doha hotel demanding that their country's national federation help them to get tickets for the World Cup final.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Inflation slowed to 4.9% in November – lowest figure in nine months

15-12-2022 23:44 According to the INDEC national statistics bureau, prices have increased by 92.4% over the past 12 months; Monthly rate for November less than expected, while quarterly economic growth picked up before government renewed price control scheme

Bloomberg

Low-cost airline Flybondi doubles down on domestic travel

07-12-2022 13:41 Argentina’s low-cost airline Flybondi is doubling down on its bet that local and regional travel will continue growing at a fast clip.

INTEREST RATES

Central Bank poised to hold the key rate at 75% into next year

30-11-2022 08:34 Central Bank tracking suggests monthly inflation could slow to about 5.5% in November, down from 6.3% in October.

AGRICULTURE

Argentina mulls tighter wheat export controls as crop withers

13-10-2022 16:49 Argentina is considering tightening the screws on wheat exports as a drought withers plants.

CURRENCY CONTROLS

Qatar and Coldplay: Argentina multiplies its exchange rates

13-10-2022 01:43 The 'dólar Catar' and 'dólar Coldplay' were added to Argentina's exchange control jargon on Wednesday.

NEW MEASURES

New taxes slapped on concerts, spending on cards overseas

12-10-2022 16:04 Aiming to "protect reserves for production and job creation,” the National Government introduces new levies to discourage purchases in dollars with debit and credit cards; New measures affect foreign currency purchases in excess of US$300, trips abroad and luxury goods.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

Economists see inflation surpassing 100% by December

07-10-2022 08:23 Private economists in Argentina see prices increasing 100% by December, Central Bank’s latest monthly survey reveals.

economy

Central Bank hikes interest rates to 75% as inflation nears 100%

15-09-2022 23:17 Central Bank boosts benchmark Leliq rate by 5.5 percentage points to 75% in a bid to prop up its currency and curb inflation.

INTEREST RATES

Central Bank set to hike rates again on price spike

01-09-2022 01:54 Central Bank set to increase benchmark Leliq rate again next month as annual inflation rises above 70%.

Bloomberg

Argentine bond rebound stalls as new minister faces a mountain to climb

18-08-2022 16:53 Initial market confidence in Sergio Massa has faltered. New “super” minister must prove he can turn his promises to slow inflation into reality, as debt rebound decelerates.

CENTRAL BANK

Argentina raises key interest rate to 69.5% in biggest hike since 2019

11-08-2022 16:40 Argentina’s Central Bank raises benchmark Leliq rate in largest hike in almost three years, signalling a more aggressive stance against surging inflation.

BLOOMBERG

Argentina’s black market peso sinks on economy minister shake-up

04-07-2022 14:16 Argentina’s black market exchange rate tumbled on Monday after left-leaning economist Silvina Batakis was appointed as the new economy minister.

Market turbulence

Argentina, always playing on ‘hard mode’

18-06-2022 08:00 Just like during the Mauricio Macri days, a series of external shocks coupled with domestic weakness have made us aware of a troubling thunderstorm on the horizon.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

MONETARY POLICY

Argentina raises benchmark rate to 52% as inflation stays hot

16-06-2022 16:54 Central Bank raises benchmark interest rate for the sixth time this year as the government struggles to cool inflation expectations.

END OF AN ERA

Mercado de Liniers cattle market closes after 122 years of trading

13-05-2022 16:51 Traditional Mercado de Liniers cattle market, in the heart of Buenos Aires, finally closes its doors ahead of its move to Cañuelas.

BLOOMBERG

Volatility roars back to Argentina's FX market on commodities drop

27-04-2022 20:26 Volatility has come roaring back to Argentina’s currency market.

BLOOMBERG

YPF leads emerging-market bond gains

31-03-2022 13:29 Only 14 months ago YPF was a nightmare for investors. Now, the state-run oil company is producing the best fixed-income returns in all of emerging markets.

BLOOMBERG

War turns Argentina's shale boom dream into gas-buying nightmare

28-03-2022 13:10 Despite huge shale-gas deposits, Argentina is competing for shipments of liquefied natural gas – its timing could scarcely be worse, as prices have skyrocketed.

CENTRAL BANK

Argentina's Central Bank raises key rate to 44.5% as inflation heats up

23-03-2022 15:42 Central Bank raises benchmark rate for the third time this year as inflation continues to speed up.

Agriculture

Argentina intervenes in wheat market to quash food inflation

03-03-2022 15:04 Argentina has intervened in the local wheat market to guarantee supplies to local millers and keep prices of commodities low.

BLOOMBERG

Argentina’s Central Bank raises key rate to 42.5%

18-02-2022 03:00 Second rate hike this year; IMF staff have called for interest rates in Argentina to exceed annual inflation.

Bloomberg

Argentine traders bail on devaluation bets, buy inflation bonds

19-01-2022 14:53 Traders are rapidly scaling back purchases of local dollar bonds and instead are plowing money into inflation-linked bonds, a better haven as they see it as consumer prices soar at an annual pace of more than 50 percent.

Lithium in Latin America

Chile awards two multi-million dollar lithium contracts

12-01-2022 21:58 Chile shunned two of the world's biggest lithium producers when awarding extraction contracts worth a total of US$121 million to a local firm and a Chinese company, the country's minerals ministry said Wednesday.

BLOOMBERG

Central Bank hikes rate for first time in a year

07-01-2022 01:41 Argentina raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time in over a year as it faces calls from the International Monetary Fund to tighten its monetary policy.

BLOOMBERG

Cannabis price drop creates opportunity for Paraguay

03-01-2022 12:36 As cannabis starts to behave more like an agricultural commodity, there’s a race to find the best growing climate at the lowest cost. In South America, a new candidate is emerging: Paraguay.

LEFTIST ELECTED PRESIDENT

Chile stock market plummets in response to Boric's election win

20-12-2021 11:40 Chilean stock market and peso takes a beating after leftist leader Gabriel Boric is elected the country's youngest-ever president-elect.

FINANCIAL TURBULENCE

Central Bank reserves at the limit as rumours swirl around Argentina

30-11-2021 21:40 Ecolatina consultancy firm forecasts that Central Bank reserves could end the year lower than in December 2020. Concerns remain about the level of money available to the BCRA, but economists rule out a potential 'corralito.'

by Brenda Funes

CRYPTOCURRENCIES

Cryptocurrencies: Argentina as a Bitcoin farmer

05-11-2021 17:44 A well-known Canadian company is bringing its Bitcoin ‘farms’ to Argentina. A look at the local temptations favouring this mining business.

by Mariana Sidoti Gigli

BLOOMBERG

Argentina will let foreign tourists bring in dollars at a lucrative rate

29-10-2021 15:02 Foreigners travelling to Argentina will be able to exchange up to US$5,000 to pesos at the more lucrative MEP (Medio Electrónico de Pagos) rate using a temporary bank account, according to new Central Bank rules.

CURRENCY

Pre-election jitters send blue dollar, country risk rate soaring

22-10-2021 21:56 Peso weakens in parallel and informal exchange rates, sending JP Morgan ‘country risk’ rate soaring.

LITHIUM IN LATIN AMERICA

Chile offers incentives to miners to take on more lithium projects

14-10-2021 22:34 Chile is offering new contracts to tap the world’s biggest reserves of lithium in a effort to reclaim market share as demand for the battery metal surges.

Bloomberg

Argentina’s 120-year-old cattle auction is leaving Buenos Aires

10-10-2021 09:30 In late December, the Mercado de Liniers, a sprawling open-air cattle market built in 1901, is slated to hold its final auction in front of what is certain to be a teary-eyed crowd.