Overview
- Argentina’s central bank announced a stabilization agreement of up to $20 billion with the U.S. Treasury, and Secretary Scott Bessent publicly confirmed it, calling the aid a bridge rather than a rescue.
- Key terms were not disclosed, and consultancies note the line will not raise gross reserves unless activated, in contrast to the accounting treatment of the China swap.
- Despite the announcement and recent U.S. market interventions, the official rate climbed to roughly ARS 1,475–1,481 and the retail rate touched ARS 1,495–1,505, leaving the currency within about 1% of the band ceiling as parallel rates also stayed high.
- The government said it began talks to repurchase sovereign bonds with JP Morgan’s assistance, which helped lift hard-currency bonds late in the session even as risk remained elevated near 1,000 basis points.
- Market reports highlight persistent pre‑election dollarization and futures pricing that still reflect devaluation risk, suggesting the swap’s political signal has had only marginal impact on sentiment.