Overview
- BCRA bought $187 million on Wednesday, its largest one-day purchase of the campaign, marking eight straight sessions of net buying and $515 million accumulated in January.
- Gross reserves reached $44.717 billion but rose only $37 million after roughly $100 million in payments to multilateral lenders, with block trades lifting the BCRA’s take to about 70% of spot volume and above its informal 5% daily guide.
- The official dollar fell for a second day to $1,480 at Banco Nación and $1,453 wholesale, leaving the rate about 6.2% below the current band ceiling near $1,543.
- Local assets weakened despite FX support, as the S&P Merval fell around 2.8%–2.9%, sovereign bonds extended losses, and country risk hovered near 586 basis points after touching roughly 591.
- Global risk tone continued to steer flows into havens, with gold at record levels and the Mexican peso near 17.80 per dollar before a modest pullback on Thursday.