Overview
- Banco Central de la República Argentina recorded 20 straight net‑buying sessions under its reserve‑accumulation program, adding about US$1.157–1.158 billion in January.
- Gross reserves fell US$1.738 billion on the final day to US$44.502 billion, a move the bank attributed to a roughly 9% plunge in gold prices and routine month‑end banking flows that typically partly reverse.
- The official dollar ended the month at $1,465 at Banco Nación and $1,447 in the wholesale market, the blue traded near $1,470, and spreads with financial dollars compressed.
- Argentina’s risk premium stayed just below 500 basis points around 495–496 after more than a 13% January drop, with local bonds and equities broadly higher despite a late pullback.
- Late‑January global turbulence in precious metals contributed to valuation swings in reserves, and markets are watching early‑February IMF‑related payments of about US$810 million.