Dollar live today: the free price rose again and closed at 376 pesos

The free dollar closed at 376 pesos

The US currency ended with a rise of two pesos in the parallel market, at $376 for sale, after a weak start in prices, at $373 in the morning. In this way, the free dollar cuts a series of two consecutive days of decline and maintains a gain of 30 pesos or 8.7 percent in January.

Meanwhile, the exchange gap with the wholesale dollar, which rose 34 cents to $183.45, was 105 percent.

The free dollar hit a record high of $378 on Tuesday.

The BCRA sold dollars in the wholesale market for the fourth consecutive day

The entity parted with USD 34 million for its intervention to supply foreign currency to imports. Since Tuesday, it has accumulated cash sales of USD 147 million, but in January it maintains a favorable balance of USD 137 million

The headquarters of the Central Bank, in downtown Buenos Aires.

In a wholesale wheel with few deals in the spot segment for USD 172 million, the Central Bank (BCRA) ended the last wheel of the week with sales of USD 34 million to meet the demand in the market.

Wide disparity in stock dollars

After the decision of the Ministry of Economy to go out and repurchase bonds in dollars for USD 1,000 million, a very strong movement was observed in the prices of restructured public securities. Global bonds on Wall Street rose 4.3% on average on Wednesday -they climbed up to 11% in the morning-, fell 5% on average on Thursday, and this Friday they fell close to 2 percent.

The variation in the prices of stock market assets also impacts the prices of dollars implicit in bonds and shares -the latter also adjusted strongly on Wednesday, with a Merval that plummeted 10%, and recovered this Friday- and for this reason the latter three days there was a notorious disparity in prices.

The MEP dollar is trading at $344 this Friday, according to the Bonar 30 (AL30D) on ByMA. The “cash with settlement” scores a high $361 through Cedear, while it pays out to $346 through the Global 2030 (GD30C) on ByMA. With YPF shares, the “cash with liquid” costs $358, while through Grupo Galicia it is paid at 353 pesos. According to the Reuters agency, the “cash with liquid” in immediate cash is also paid at $353, while in a weighted average between the different valuations it reaches 348 pesos.

Stock dollars trade below the free dollar.

The free dollar rises to 375 pesos

The free dollar reversed the price drop experienced in the morning and after 2:00 p.m. it is paid at $375 for sale, this is one peso above Thursday’s close. The exchange gap with the wholesale dollar stands at 104.4 percent.

The “blue” dollar gains 8.4% in January.

The free dollar drops to 373 pesos

The free dollar is trading with a bearish trend for the third session in a row. That Friday, subtract one peso from its sale price, at 373 pesos. The exchange gap with the wholesale dollar, at $183.45, is reduced to 103.3 percent.

The free dollar hit a record high of $378 on Tuesday.

In 2022 the trade surplus collapsed by more than 50% compared to the previous year

The INDEC will report on Thursday the trade balance data for the last month of the year. In December, imports fell 18% and exports 6%. The balance was positive in more than US$ 1,100 million. What is expected for 2023

General view of containers in the Commercial Port of the city of Buenos Aires (Argentina), in a file photograph. EFE/Demian Alday Estevez

The dynamics that imports had during the first half of last year, not only by volume but also by price -with a strong impact from the energy sector- failed to reverse the commercial result of all of 2022, despite the fact that as of June, and more precisely in recent months, the Government tightened controls on imports. The INDEC will release the December number this Thursday and will ratify what had already been warned: that the trade surplus collapsed by more than 50% last year, with purchases abroad growing 29% and exports growing 13%. 5 percent.

The Liaison Table warned that the losses due to the drought will reach USD 15,000 million and Massa promised measures for February

The camp leaders pointed out that the consequences of the climatic phenomenon will be serious “even if it rains 100 millimeters tomorrow.” The Ministry of Economy committed to joint work of “no more than 5 days” to have solutions at the beginning of next month

The Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, and the leadership of the Liaison Table, during the meeting at the INTA headquarters in Castelar

The meeting between the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, and the leaders of the Liaison Table concluded with the official promise that the measures demanded to face the consequences of the drought will be in place on February 1, without delay. At the same time, the agricultural leadership harshly warned the minister of the seriousness of the situation, stressing that the damage caused by the lack of rainfall is not limited to the sector but will impact the entire economy.

The wholesale dollar rises to 183.45 pesos

The North American currency is agreed at $183.45 in the wholesale market, where foreign trade operations are carried out, with an increase of 34 cents on the day. The official exchange rate accumulates a monthly increase of 5.5%, compared to the $173.93 of last December 20.

The devaluation of the peso keeps pace with monthly inflation.

After the repurchase of bonds, the plan for a loan in dollars from international banks returns

It would be a “repo” operation, that is, financing against the guarantee of debt securities. Massa had mentioned it when taking office but it never came to fruition. Now the speculations are back

In the market it is presumed that the choice of bonds under foreign law to repurchase aims to obtain a loan with banks

The start of the bond repurchase operation was a surprise for the market, which was not expecting it at this time. Actually, Sergio Massa had let it out as a possibility as soon as he took office at the Ministry of Economy, but then he had not returned to the subject. Along these lines, among large investors the rumor of a possible “repo” in favor of Argentina returned, that is, a million-dollar loan from international banks backed by public securities.

The free dollar fell to 374 pesos

On its second day of decline, yesterday the “blue” price cut three pesos or 0.8% and closed the day at 374 pesos. The currency in the marginal market maintains a gain of 28 pesos or 8.1% in January, above inflation for the third month in a row. With a wholesale dollar that gained 30 cents, at $183.11, the exchange gap stood at 104.2 percent.

As for the dollars implicit in the prices of shares and bonds, the “cash with settlement” rebounded 1% and closed at 355.41, while the MEP dollar fell eight pesos or 2.2%, to 332.83 pesos .

In a wholesale session with an amount traded in the cash segment (spot) of USD 200.2 million, yesterday the Central Bank made sales for USD 38 million to balance the offer, given a decrease in the volumes settled for exports.

The monetary entity thus chained three consecutive rounds with cash sales, which totaled USD 113 million from Tuesday the 17th, inclusive. However, in the course of January the entity chaired by Miguel Pesce maintains a positive net balance of about USD 170 million for its exchange participation.

The gap between the free and official dollar was 104 percent (Photo: Franco Fafasuli)

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