BUENOS AIRES, Jan 19 (Reuters) – Argentina’s sovereign bonds improved on Wednesday and country risk recovered, in a considered technical price rebound, amid growing doubts about a breakthrough in the country’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund. (IMF).
On the other hand, in the external context, the yields of US Treasury bonds fell after having reached new maximums of two years on Wednesday, while the operators prepare for a more aggressive monetary policy of the Federal Reserve this year, and before. of the Treasury selling new 20-year debt.
“The cautious external climate continues to act as a serious conditioning factor for risk appetite, which is why domestic assets are negatively influenced beyond the fact that the attention of operators continues to be mainly concentrated on the IMF,” said Gustavo Ber, economist at Ber studio.
“Some more constructive signs and expectations allow a respite after the strong punishment that bonds and ADRs have been accumulating, given that forecasts grow that a ‘light’ agreement could finally be reached,” he estimated.
Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero met Tuesday with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and said he hoped to receive support from the United States in negotiations with the IMF, while Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernández criticized payments to the agency. saying they cost the country more than the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The meeting of the Secretary of State of the United States, Blinken, and Foreign Minister Cafiero did not have any relevant definition,” said the StoneX Group.
* Argentine bonds in the local over-the-counter market gained 0.5% on average, in an unstable and selective round of business where dollarized issues were prioritized, operators commented.
* Rates of return on dollar bonds (IRR) exceed 25% per year, while five-year default insurance coverage (CDS) remains high, reflecting market doubts.
* “The negotiation with the IMF is the main catalyst for Argentine sovereign debt and the differences between the two positions continue to be very large,” said the Neix Clearing and Settlement agent.
* The country risk prepared by the JP Morgan bank fell important 21 units, to 1,869 basic points, around 2000 GMT, after marking a historical maximum level of 1,910 bp on Tuesday.
* The leading stock index S&P Merval improved a limited 0.21%, to a provisional close of 83,528.23 units, in line with improvements in external markets.
* In the exchange market, the interbank peso depreciated 0.08%, to 104.24/104.25 units per dollar, with the permanent regulation of liquidity from the central bank (BCRA).
* The monetary entity had to sell about 60 million dollars to the market to supply the demand, after getting rid of another 50 million in the previous session, operators commented.
* The peso in the reduced but referential informal market or “blue” was negotiated at a historical minimum level of 213 units per dollar, operators agreed.
* For its part, the domestic currency in the alternative exchange segments traded lower at 215.10 per dollar in the “cash with settlement” (CCL) stock market and at 206.50 in the so-called “MEP dollar”.
(Reporting by Walter Bianchi; With the collaboration of Hernán Nessi; Editing by Eliana Raszewski)
