Main aspects
Banks and other entities sold around US$ 1,400 million net through the Single and Free Exchange Market (MULC), explained by net purchases by the Central Bank for US$ 1,100 million and by its private and public sector clients for US$ 283 million. The National Treasury did not carry out foreign exchange operations directly with the BCRA in the month.
The volume traded in the MULC totaled US$ 42,128 million (equivalent to about US$ 2,000 million on a daily average), a level that represented a new maximum in the history of the MULC and registered an increase of 27% in year-on-year terms.
Current account operations in the foreign exchange balance were in deficit by US$ 961 million, as a result of net outflows from the “Primary income” and “Services” accounts of US$ 1,095 million and US$ 762 million, respectively, partially offset by net income from “Goods” of US$ 863 million, as a result of export receipts of US$ 5,775 million (year-on-year fall of 4%) and import payments of US$ 4,912 million (year-on-year increase of US$ 4,912 million). 4%).
The capital and financial account of the “Non-Financial Private Sector” showed net outflows of US$ 779 million, evidencing a reversal of US$ 1,347 million with respect to net income of US$ 568 million in the same period of 2016, basically due to the greater outflow due to the formation of foreign assets and the purchase and sale of securities.
Capital and financial operations in the financial sector resulted in net income of US$ 701 million, explained by the decrease in the liquid foreign assets of the entities that make up the General Exchange Position (PGC) by US$ 752 million and by net debt income of US$ 296 million, which were partly offset by the use of funds for the primary subscription of securities for US$ 347 million.
The foreign exchange capital and financial account of the public sector and BCRA resulted in a surplus of US$ 172 million. Among the operations that explained this surplus, the National Treasury’s foreign currency income from LETES placements, the BONAR 2037 and 2025 denominated in dollars, for a total of US$ 2,800 million, which were partially offset by the payment of LETES for US$ 1,598 million and debt cancellations with international organizations for US$ 1,074 million, were highlighted. basically linked to the agreement with the Paris Club.
With these movements, the BCRA’s international reserves decreased by US$ 2,071 million during the month, closing with a stock of US$ 46,146 million.
