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 May.

Main aspects

In May, as part of a series of measures aimed at stabilizing the foreign exchange market, the BCRA made net sales of US$ 5,629 million, which, added to the sales made by banks and other foreign exchange entities for US$ 470 million, were acquired by private sector clients for US$ 5,841 million, by the National Treasury for US$ 168 million and by other public sector agencies for US$ 89 million.

The total volume traded in the foreign exchange market totaled US$ 62,096 million in May (almost US$ 3,300 million on a daily average), a level that registered an increase of 49% in year-on-year terms.

The operations of the current account of the foreign exchange balance were in deficit by US$ 2,299 million, a result that was explained by the deficits in the “Primary income” and “Services” accounts of US$ 1,802 million and US$ 969 million, respectively, partially offset by the surplus of the “Goods” account. The result for “Goods” was the result of export collections of US$ 4,577 million (year-on-year fall of 21%) and import payments of US$ 4,110 million (year-on-year decrease of 16%).

The capital and financial account of the “Non-Financial Private Sector” (NFPS) registered net outflows of US$ 6,213 million, basically due to the outflows recorded by the formation of foreign assets for US$ 4,616 million, by the flows of investments by non-residents that closed the month with a net outflow of US$ 1,190 million and by the outflow due to the operation of securities in the secondary market for US$ 684 million.

The operations of the capital and financial account of the “Financial Sector” resulted in a surplus of US$ 177 million, explained by the net income of financial loans and debt securities of US$ 358 million, partially offset by the increase in the liquid foreign assets of the entities that make up the General Exchange Position (PGC) by US$ 94 million and by the use of funds for the primary subscription of securities by US$ 91 million.

The capital and financial exchange rate account of the public sector and BCRA resulted in a surplus of US$ 4,096 million, basically explained by the liquidation of financial loans and debt securities and other pesifications for US$ 2,050 million, by the foreign currency income of the National Treasury for the expansion of securities denominated in pesos (BOTES) for US$ 2,575 million and by the net income of loans from international and other bilateral organizations for US$ 640 million. These revenues were partially offset by net payments of dollar-denominated LETES of about US$1 billion.

With these movements, the BCRA’s international reserves decreased by US$ 6,525 million during the month of May, closing with a stock at the end of the month of US$ 50,098 million