Argentina's Peso rose against the dollar on Monday for the first time in two weeks, after the central bank intervened in the foreign exchange markets on Friday to halt the currency's rapid decline to historic lows, when it reached 18 Pesos.
Argentina's central bank hiked interest rates on its short-term securities on Tuesday in its monthly auction, the second such increase in the past three months as it seeks to soak up pesos and rein in stubbornly high inflation.
Argentina’s international currency reserves rose above the landmark US$40 billion for the first time in three and a half years last Friday, as a huge inflow of dollars from government-issued debt and some exports over the last few days caused some dramatic increases this week. The milestone, according to Central Bank chief Federico Sturzenegger, was “a sign of growing investor confidence in the country.”
Almost 100 million pesos (approx US$ 7.3 million) are held in offshore accounts by officials from the current Argentine administration economic Cabinet, a figure higher than the 18 million pesos President Mauricio Macri reported as having in a Bahamas account.
Argentina's economy grew 0.8% on the first quarter of the year compared to the same period last year, Central Bank Governor Federico Sturzenegger said, declaring that since President Mauricio Macri took office employment has remained “stable.”
The Argentine government of president Mauricio Macri started a round of negotiations with big price setters as part of its bid to keep prices under control despite the recent devaluation of the peso. Domestic Trade Secretary Miguel Braun and Central Bank Governor Federico Sturzenegger met with the top representatives of the Argentine Chamber of Commerce (CAC) and representatives from medium-sized companies, who asked for cheap credit in exchange for the government’s goal of keeping prices in check.
The incoming government of Argentine president Mauricio Macri is about to receive its first financial boost from overseas, which according La Nacion sources could be in the range of 8 billion dollars.
Argentina Central Bank President Alejandro Vanoli resigned Wednesday under pressure from President-elect Mauricio Macri, who plans to remove currency controls with reserves standing at a nine-year low.
Inflation in Argentina clocked 1.53% in June accumulating 27.9% in the last twelve months according to the report released on Tuesday by members of the Congressional opposition based on an average from private consultants. This week Argentina's government stats office, Indec in scheduled to announce the official rate.
Argentine annual inflation for 2013 was 28.38% after soaring 3.38% in the month of December alone, according to the Congressional consumer price index, which is a survey that takes the average of several consultancy firms.