Overview

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. bought Argentine pesos directly and finalized a roughly $20 billion currency swap with the central bank to bolster liquidity.
• Markets rallied on the announcement: sovereign bonds rose as much as 9%, Argentina stocks in New York jumped about 27%, and parallel dollar quotations retreated, compressing the exchange-rate gap.
• The move followed heavy intervention to defend the peso, with over $2.0 billion spent in October that left limited dollar deposits before the U.S. action stabilized trading.
• Analysts describe a temporary ‘pax cambiaria,’ warning its durability depends on election results and how many dollars Washington ultimately deploys in Argentina.
• The ruling coalition replaced José Luis Espert—who admitted receiving money from businessman Federico Machado—with Diego Santilli atop the Buenos Aires list, as criticism mounted at home and some U.S. Democrats questioned the aid’s geopolitical framing.