Overview
- From the first business day of 2026, the BCRA will update the floor and ceiling of the dollar band each month by the latest INDEC inflation reading (t‑2), replacing the 1% monthly crawl.
- January’s band will index to November inflation of 2.5%, and authorities stressed this is not a discrete devaluation but a rule change to track prices more closely.
- The central bank will launch a reserve accumulation plan targeting about US$10 billion, scalable to US$17 billion if money demand rises, with purchases capped at 5% of daily FX volume and the option for block buys.
- Operational mechanics will shift so the BCRA, not the Treasury, retains FX purchases to rebuild reserves as part of a ‘re-monetization’ path that projects base money rising from 4.2% to 4.8% of GDP by end‑2026.
- Markets moved on the announcement: official and parallel dollars rose (Banco Nación $1,480; wholesale near $1,450; MEP/CCL higher), sovereign bonds rallied, and country risk fell below 600 to roughly 561–573, while the IMF publicly welcomed the steps.