After Argentina’s return to international debt marketHe national treasure deepened its currency accumulation strategy and acquired this Monday 320 million US dollars in the official foreign exchange market. The operation was confirmed by the President of the Central Bank (BCRA), Santiago Bausiliduring a press conference.
The purchase is in addition to the purchase made last week when the Treasury Department incorporated $220 millionThis is a clear sign that the government is trying to strengthen its position in foreign currencies in the face of short-term financial obligations.
The Treasury Department is adding dollars, just weeks after a strong debt maturity
The main goal is to achieve that Expires next January 9thif payments have to be made private bondholders for $4.2 billiona number that forces us to intensify the search for dollars at different windows.
According to official information, there are up to December 5ththe Treasury had hardly any $210 million deposited in the BCRAan amount that is clearly insufficient to cover immediate obligations.
Given the recent purchases on the official market and other operations carried out in recent weeks, The government has so far managed to almost rally $1.5 billion, However, there is still a significant amount left to cover all payments planned for the beginning of the year.
In the city, they are watching this dynamic closely, as the accumulation of foreign currencies by the Treasury comes in parallel with the new phase of external financing and an exchange rate regime aimed at reducing volatility. For the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the signal to the market is twofold: demonstrate the ability to access credit while strengthening dollar liquidity to address doubts about debt compliance in the short term.
“We bought more dollars than any other government,” Bausili said
The President of Central Bank (BCRA) Santiago Bausili He gave details of the new monetary system announced by the company, which involves a change in exchange rate bands and the purchase of reserves from January 2026.
Among other things, he explained how the new exchange rate system will affect inflation and what impact greater purchases of foreign reserves could have on the price of the dollar.
After reviewing the reserve accumulation statement released by the BCRA, Bausili stated: “The central bank will participate in the foreign exchange market with the aim of covering the forecast cash requirements. It shouldn’t surprise us that the BCRA is buying dollars in the market. The idea is to participate in a volume that does not affect the proper functioning and stability of the foreign exchange market. That’s why we say it should be about 5% of daily volume, although that can change.”
“We buy more dollars than any other government” In another part of his conference, he emphasized that buying reserves will not put upward pressure on the price of the dollar.
“Block operations are those that could affect the stability of the foreign exchange market: the Treasury bought today.” $320 million. The volume in the foreign exchange market would have been $300 million if this offer had taken place, “Probably would have affected the proper functioning of the market,” Bausili said.
Meanwhile, considering the possible impact on the dollar, the BCRA president indicated that he would not put upward pressure on the exchange rate: “The BCRA accumulating reserves does not mean that the exchange rate will rise. Because it happens in response to that an increase in demand for money: society needs pesos. The way to provide these pesos is to buy dollars and accumulate reserves at the BCRA. If it weren’t there, the exchange rate would rise sharply. In the long term, it depends on the supply and demand for money..
On the other hand, he emphasized that the change in the gang system will have no impact on inflation: “We confirm that the band scheme is the best regime for the current situation. Just because the bands are adjusted for inflation doesn’t mean it will be higher or lower: it gives the bands flexibility. “It is a contribution to reducing uncertainty in the future.”
“The entire purchasing program system is anchored around the realization that we are entering a phase that will be characterized by economic growth and the remonetization of the economy,” Bausili said.
The BCRA announced the start of a “new phase of the currency program.”
“In order to consolidate price stability, The Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) announces the start of a new phase of the monetary program. “The Monetary Authority’s efforts will give priority to the objective of achieving convergence of domestic inflation to the level of international inflation,” the BCRA statement said.
“The successful progress in resolving macroeconomic imbalances and confirmation of the strength of the economic program in the face of political uncertainty caused by the midterm elections expands the planning horizon and creates favorable conditions for growth, the re-monetization of the economy, etc Accumulation of international reserves,” he added.
“Monetary policy management will aim to ensure this.” The supply of money accompanies the recovery of the demand for money and prioritizes its supply through the accumulation of international reserves. “Monetary programming will define a consistent path for monetary aggregates that makes the disinflation process compatible with the accumulation of international reserves,” the BCRA said.
Changes in dollar bands: what they will look like from January 2026
In this context, the Central Bank stated: “From January 1, 2026 The upper and lower bounds of the exchange rate float band change each month at the rate corresponding to the latest monthly inflation data reported by INDEC.“.
“From January 1, 2026 The BCRA will launch an international reserve building program in line with the development of money demand and the liquidity of the foreign exchange market. The BCRA’s basic remonetization scenario envisages an increase in the monetary base from the current 4.2% to 4.8% of GDP by December 2026, which could be provided through the purchase of $10 billion subject to the provision of balance of payments flows,” he added.
“An additional 1% of GDP increase in money demand could lead to purchases.” 17,000 million US dollarssubject to the provision of balance of payments flows without the need for sustained sterilization efforts,” he noted.
And he emphasized: “The daily execution amount of the reserve accumulation program will be adjusted to the participation of the 5% of daily foreign exchange market volume. The BCRA may conduct block purchases that could otherwise affect the orderly functioning and stability of the market.“.
What will purchasing BCRA reserves look like in 2026?
Specifically with regard to the purchase of reserves, the BCRA announced that it will launch an international reserve accumulation program from January 1, 2026, based on two considerations:
The demand for money
“The designed program is in line with the BCRA estimate for the growth and remonetization of the economy in 2026. The BCRA’s base remonetization scenario envisages an increase in the monetary base from the current 4.2% to 4.8% of GDP by December 2026, which could be provided through the purchase of 10,000 million US dollars, dependent on the provision of balance of payments flows. An additional 1% of GDP increase in money demand could boost purchases to $17 billionsubject to the provision of balance of payments flows without creating inflationary pressures,” he stressed.
“The BCRA will maintain a monetary policy stance that avoids sustained sterilization efforts as long as money demand develops as expected. In the event that money demand development turns out to be lower than expected, The BCRA will take such corrective measures as it deems appropriate in accordance with the economic program“added the statement.
The liquidity of the foreign exchange market
“In order to promote the continuity of the orderly functioning and stability of the foreign exchange market, the reserve purchase program will be compatible with the daily liquidity of the foreign exchange market. First, the daily execution amount will be adjusted to a proportion of 5% of the daily volume of the foreign exchange market. This operational flexibility is in line with the observation that the volume traded daily in the foreign exchange market has very significant fluctuations,” the BCRA said.
“For example, in recent weeks the volume has been reduced by a third based on the average calculation $600 million daily on an amount of around $200 million (less repo transactions). In addition to operations in the MLC, the BCRA may conduct block purchases that could otherwise affect the orderly functioning and stability of the market,” the statement said.
“This scheme is consistent with the decline in inflation: Inflation has to do with oversupply. This can be caused by an increase in supply and a decrease in demand, or a combination of both. Now the demand for money increases and the supply increases through the purchase of reserves, but more slowly. “This is consistent with a decline in inflation over time,” he concluded.
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