Argentine President Javier Milei announced on Friday that his government is working on ways to meet $9.5 billion in debt payments due in 2026, but made it clear he’s not relying on 0 Donald Trump to fix the 1 asked directly if the 2 might intervene to help stabilize Argentina’s fragile economy, Javier avoided the question and simply said, “Those negotiations take time and we don’t make announcements until it’s 3 we are working very hard, we’re very advanced, and it’s a matter of time too.” According to Bloomberg, this was interpreted by local media as a sign that quiet conversations with Washington are underway, but nobody’s officially confirming 4 Secretary Scott Bessent, who visited Buenos Aires in April, had told a closed-door gathering of investors that the 5 tap into its Exchange Stabilization Fund to support 6 then, the Treasury hasn’t publicly 7 no one in Milei’s camp is offering 8 press office said nothing, and the economy ministry refused to answer 9 Minister Luis Caputo also stayed vague but did mention during a Thursday podcast: “For the past two or three months, we’ve been working to guarantee the payment of bond 10 haven’t announced it because we are still working on 11 announce things once they are finalized.” Central bank burns reserves as peso hits the wall Argentina’s peso is 12 the opposition’s big win in Buenos Aires, investors began dumping local assets 13 peso slipped during nearly every trading session for two weeks straight, pushing authorities to pour over $400 million into the market to defend the 14 included $53 million sold on Wednesday, and another $379 million on 15 top of that, the central bank had already blown through $1 billion earlier in the week trying to stop a full-blown 16 peso hit 1,475 per dollar this week, pushing past the top end of its IMF-imposed trading 17 calm panic, the government brought in tighter trading 18 central bank banned shareholders and executives of banks from trading financial dollars (locally called MEP and CCL) for 90 days after any currency purchase on the official 19 also raised reserve requirements and started dumping dollars from the Treasury and entering futures 20 the bleeding hasn’t 21 insisted Thursday night, “We trust in the program and we’re not going to move away from the program.
We’re going to sell up till the last dollar in the ceiling of the band.” But that approach is killing Argentina’s ability to pay what it 22 $20 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund is being eaten alive by intervention efforts, not servicing 23 tank as Milei loses control of narrative The S&P Merval index just became the worst performer out of more than 90 global stock benchmarks tracked by Bloomberg this month. Argentina’s dollar bonds, especially those due in 2035, are leading emerging market losses and now sit at their lowest level in a 24 have jumped from 10.27% at the start of September to more than 17%, putting the country right back in distressed territory.
Javier’s popularity nosedived after voters punished him in local 25 brutal austerity measures, slashing healthcare and education spending, backfired 26 with a corruption scandal unfolding inside his circle, the Peronists took back Buenos 27 losses in Congress followed, sparking fear that he’s lost the ability to pass any more 28 Reed, who manages emerging market debt at Ninety One in New York, said , “It’s probably too soon to say that the story is crumbling, but certainly the new pieces of information that we’ve gotten in the last week have all been negative.” Inflation had started to cool off , dropping under 100%, and investors had once cheered Javier’s drastic reforms when he took office in late 29 now that his agenda’s stuck, the optimism is 30 man who won on promises to dollarize the economy and shut down the central bank is now relying on that very same institution to sell dollars, enforce controls, and manage a 31 $50 free to trade crypto when you sign up to Bybit now
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