Overview
- The informal blue dollar corrected to about ARS 1,525 while the official wholesale rate hovered just below ARS 1,500, leaving the parallel market and official window tightly priced against each other.
- The BCRA sharply reduced intervention, buying only USD 16 million on Friday and USD 111 million for the first week of August, the smallest weekly accumulation since the reserve program began in January.
- Gross international reserves fell to about USD 48.835 billion after an USD 852 million repayment to the IMF, a drop that narrows the central bank’s margin to keep buying dollars at current levels.
- A surprise U.S. payrolls loss of 23,000 jobs weakened the dollar globally, helped push Peru’s sol to a four‑month low near S/3.378, and prompted investors to scale back expectations for further Fed tightening.
- Markets lowered year‑end official peso forecasts in the REM and futures contracts, Argentine bonds and stocks slipped and country risk rose above 450, signaling that the key watch points are reserve flows, BCRA buying capacity and upcoming Fed moves.