Overview
- The national statistics agency reported a current-account surplus of USD 2,214 million for the second quarter of 2026, reversing a year-earlier deficit and improving Argentina’s external financing position.
- The turnaround was led by a goods trade surplus of USD 9,293 million as exports rose to USD 27,557 million while imports held at USD 18,264 million, with gains concentrated in agroindustrial and energy shipments.
- Services and primary income eroded much of the gain: services showed a USD 2,102 million deficit and investment-income outflows totaled about USD 6,032 million, including roughly USD 1,172 million linked to IMF and other multilateral obligations.
- Gross external debt climbed to USD 327,855 million at end-June 2026 and remains heavily dollar-denominated (67.8%), even as reserves rose by USD 3,703 million in the quarter to USD 44,870 million and the net international investment position was a USD 33,860 million creditor at market value.
- Households and firms hold over USD 285 billion outside the domestic system in cash, foreign accounts and assets, a stock far larger than official reserves that constrains the central bank’s exchange-rate and policy options and could keep capital flight risks alive.