Main aspects
In March, customers bought about US$ 540 million from entities. The BCRA did not intervene in the foreign exchange market, because the exchange rate never left the “non-intervention zone”. Real sector companies were net sellers of foreign currency for about US$ 1,000 million.
Within this group, the main sector with a net supply in historical terms, “Oilseeds and cereals”, had net sales of US$ 1,350 million, with a year-on-year decrease of 19%, which could be explained by the cancellation of obligations and/or the formation of assets abroad.
Companies in the “Real Non-Oilseeds and Cereals Sector” made net purchases of US$ 330 million. The difference with respect to net purchases of US$ 2,100 million in March 2018 continued to be explained by the lower imports observed in recent months.
The “Individuals” bought US$ 1,000 million in net income. The 60% decrease compared to purchases of US$ 2,500 million in March 2018 can be explained by lower purchases for hoarding and for trips abroad.
“Institutional investors and others”, both residents and non-residents, made net purchases of about US$ 900 million, showing a reversal from the net sales observed in March 2018 of about US$ 100 million.
In addition to sales in the spot market, the entities made forward purchases in foreign currency for US$ 380 million.
The General Government recorded net payments of debt securities for about US$ 800 million, mainly for bills in foreign currency and in pesos. It also made net payments to international organizations for US$ 400 million.
As a result of the aforementioned movements, gross international reserves decreased by US$ 1,828 million during March, ending the month at a stock of US$ 66,187 million.
