Argentine Economy Minister and presidential candidate, Sergio Massa, blamed financial speculation for the new exchange rate tensions in the country, with the dollar hitting new records this Thursday (3).
“There is speculation, especially on the part of some sectors that are betting that Argentina will not be able to pay its debt in pesos or close an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF),” Massa told reporters during a visit to Cordoba province. .
According to the minister, Argentina managed to deal with the debt and reach an agreement with the IMF, so that “the last support left” for these sectors — which he did not identify — was “speculation on the blue dollar”. , as the informal exchange rate is called in the country.
That Thursday, the dollar rose 17 pesos in the informal market, reaching a new record of 577 pesos per unit for sale.
At Banco Nación, a state-owned institution, where transactions are restricted to US$200 per month, per individual and under certain conditions, the US currency rose 1.50 pesos, reaching a record 290 pesos for sale to the public.
The official wholesale price of the dollar also advanced this Thursday to another record, of 278.10 pesos, and the so-called “dollar counted with liquidation” (used in operations with stock exchanges abroad) reached a historic high of 577 .87 pesos.
Regarding the exchange rate unification proposed by some opposition candidates as part of the campaign for the primaries on the 13th, which will define the candidates for the October presidential election, Massa warned that this measure would drive 60% of the population into poverty.
“Argentina faces a structural problem, which is the fact that they left us a debt (with the IMF) of US$ 45 billion. And the only solution they can think of is to contract more debt with the IMF. It’s like an alcoholic trying to solve your problems with more alcohol”, he commented.
As for the deceleration of inflation, with the consumer price index at 115.6% in 12 months as measured in June, Massa argued that “it will depend on the growth of exports in 2024”.
He assured that an improvement in export earnings will also give “solidity” to the Argentine peso.
On July 24, the informal dollar had already broken a record, after exchange and tax measures adopted by the Argentine government.
The US currency rose 21 pesos (3.9%) in the parallel market, reaching a new record of 550 pesos per unit (approximately R$9.60).
The new leap came after the Argentine government increased the official dollar rate for the settlement of some agricultural exports and applied a tax on most import operations. (With information from the EFE Agency)
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