Overview
- The official peso closed at ARS 1,460 at Banco Nación on Friday, marking the first three-week consecutive official increase of 2026 and a weekly rise of about ARS 30.
- The Banco Central de la República Argentina has bought roughly USD 10.1 billion year-to-date, including reported net purchases of about USD 119 million on Thursday, which put the authority past its annual accumulation floor.
- Gross international reserves edged down to about USD 48.37 billion after recent payments to international organisations and valuation changes, showing that net purchases have not fully translated into a rising reserves stock.
- Global factors — stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data, higher-for-longer rate expectations, and renewed Middle East tensions — drove a broad sell-off that lifted Argentina’s sovereign spread toward 495 basis points and pushed down equities and crypto prices.
- The shift matters for ordinary Argentines because official depreciation that outpaces or lags inflation affects purchasing power, the outlook for financial-dollar and parallel markets, and the central bank’s ability to sustain reserve gains as seasonal agro flows decline later in the year.