Informe de Evolución del Mercado de Cambios y Balance Cambiario

This report analyzes the evolution of purchases and sales of foreign currency in the foreign exchange market, corresponding to July.

Main aspects

In July, the public sector as a whole sold US$ 1,692 million net through the Single and Free Exchange Market (MULC), and banks and other entities, US$ 246 million. This total was purchased by private sector clients for US$ 1,243 million and by the BCRA for US$ 696 million.

The volume traded in the MULC reached a new all-time high, totaling US$ 42,282 million, an amount that represented an increase of 40% compared to the same month of 2016, mainly explained by the operations arranged between the entities and their customers, and to a lesser extent, by the operations between entities, partially offset by the decrease in operations between the entities and the BCRA.

The operations of the current account of the foreign exchange balance were in deficit of US$ 1,427 million, as a result of the net outflows from the “Services” and “Primary income” accounts of US$ 970 million and US$ 789 million, respectively, partially offset by the net income recorded in the “Goods” accounts of US$ 302 million, explained by export receipts of US$ 5,087 million (year-on-year increase of 11%) and import payments of US$ 4,785 million (8% year-on-year increase).

The foreign exchange capital and financial account of the public sector and BCRA resulted in a surplus of US$ 584 million, highlighting the income of the National Treasury from placements of Treasury Bills denominated in dollars for US$ 1,925 million and the liquidations of local governments of financial loans for US$ 600 million. These revenues were partly offset by the outlay of funds destined to the payment of LETES for US$ 1,650 million and the cancellation of net loans with International Organizations for US$ 268 million.

The capital and financial account of the “Non-Financial Private Sector” (NFPS) registered net outflows of US$ 1,096 million, resulting in a reversal of about US$ 1,700 million compared to what was observed in the same month of 2016. This change in the direction of flows was mainly explained by the increase in net purchases of foreign assets by residents and the decrease in income from financial loans, partially offset by the reversal of securities trading in the secondary market.

The capital and financial operations of the “Financial Sector” resulted in net outflows of US$ 17 million, explained by the use of funds for the primary subscription of securities for US$ 412 million, which were practically offset by the net income from debt of US$ 236 million and the decrease in the liquid foreign assets of the entities that make up the General Exchange Position (PGC) by US$ 159 million.

With these movements, the BCRA’s international reserves decreased by US$ 980 million, closing the month with a stock of US$ 47,014 million.