Financial Times questioned Milei’s exchange policy and warned of the strong demand for dollars

Between April and Augustindividual operators They bought US $ 9,500 million from the Central Bank (BCRA) To resell them in the parallel marketthe call in the financial jargon “El Rulo”, according to the British media. That figure is equivalent to almost half of the currencies from agricultural exports of the harvest season, which made the organism difficult Recompose your few reservations without pressing even more about the exchange rate.

“The government faces a growing problem to sustain the weight,” says the text. “Milei’s inability to accumulate reservations has worried investors and has caused a Mass sale of Argentine assets In recent weeks. ”

Exchange and alert instability in the markets

The journalist recalled that the market turbulence It started last month, after a local electoral defeat of the ruling party which questioned the political support for free market reforms promoted by Milei. That episode unleashed a drop in weight and sovereign bondsfeeding the expectations of a New devaluation inside the exchange band.

In that context, the article mentions that the promise of financial support “formulated vaguely” By the Secretary of the United States, Scott Besenthe managed to partially mitigate volatility, although he did not dissipate tensions.

“The weight rose 10% one week and the next 7% fell,” said the medium, in reference to the extreme sensitivity of the exchange market Faced with political rumors and movements.

The British newspaper points out that Milei held his political adversaries responsible for the pressure on the weight, accusing them of selling local currency or encouraging uncertainty. However, the analysts consulted claim that There are deeper structural reasonslinked to Electoral risk and al historical behavior of economic agents.

“The demand for dollars usually increases in Argentina before the elections, when families and companies seek to protect themselves from political risk,” explains the article. “That trend intensified from the surprise defeat of Mauricio Macri in the 2019 primaries.”

In addition, the Financial Times indicates that The recent political crisis weakened the parallel exchange rate, while the official weight was sustained by Central Bank interventions. That dynamic expanded the exchange gap and promoted arbitration operationsthrough which currencies are bought and sold taking advantage of the differences between contributions.

Reservations to the limit and pressure prior to the elections

According to economists cited by the British environment, the Central Bank has just a few billions of dollars in liquid reserves to intervene in the market and defend exchange band.

With the mid -term elections to three weeks, most analysts expect the authorities Use all available tools to avoid abrupt devaluationalthough they agree that the current exchange policy It will be unsustainable after the elections.

“The government will probably sell everything you can to maintain the stable weight to the elections, but must modify its strategy later,” concludes the Financial Timesin a reading that summarizes the climate of economic and political uncertainty which crosses Milei’s management.