After a week where the political discussion got fully involved in the economy and before a market that seems to
believe less and less in the signals of the Argentine government
, Sergio Massa accelerates a package of measures to overcome the disappointment that, they anticipate, the
data will leave
of inflation
that will be announced by INDEC this Tuesday.
Among them, the announcement of a loan with international banks to strengthen reserves
stands out .
The Central Bank has begun
its worst year in terms of dollar sales since 2018
and the dynamics, added to a sharp drop in agricultural liquidations, worry both the Ministry of Economy and the market.
Only in the MULC (single Mercado Único y Libre de Cambios, which was not lost despite the multiple stocks) the organization
has sold almost US$900 million, which is added to the almost US$600 million that would have been allocated to the repurchase of bonds.
At the Palacio de Hacienda they confirmed that the announcement of a new
"repo" with international banks
that take Argentine debt securities as collateral is
"imminent."
This is a card that Massa wants to play since his arrival at the Ministry in August of last year, but which was delayed due to the high financial cost involved.
Now, it transpired that the amount
would exceed US$ 1,000 million and that the rate would be less than 10%
.
In addition, the dollars that would enter the national coffers
would go to the National Treasury and not to the Reserves of the Central Bank.
It would be the first international loan from private investors to materialize since 2019.
Repurchase Agreement (Repo) operations are loans that are
usually made with debt securities or financial assets and function as a pledge contract
: the Central Bank receives the dollars and
delivers guarantee bonds,
with the commitment to repurchase them.
The purpose may be to cancel debt or add liquidity.
In August, with the price of dollar bonds at historical lows, the high cost of this operation halted negotiations.
Now, the debt rally in the last quarter of 2022 and the first part of January of this year served as a platform to put this alternative back on the table.
Sources with access to the negotiations stated that the government
received seven different offers.
Times are tight.
On Friday, global dollar stocks, which would enter into the deal, ended their second straight week lower.
"The debt buyback was not effective in maintaining bond prices and that is a problem. In order to negotiate better terms in the repo, Massa needs parities to remain high," said a trader in strict off.
Sources close to the Economy confirmed to
Clarín
that Massa's teams are working against the clock prior to the announcement of these and other measures.
The Minister seeks to regain centrality after the opposition came out to mark the field last week.
He is expected to come out this Wednesday with new strategies to improve the fiscal, monetary and financial fronts.
And that, until April, the announcements are accelerated.
Besides.
New disbursements from multilateral organizations
will be confirmed in the coming days .
With or without a Repo, the market is concerned that the Government can meet the goal of accumulating reserves agreed with the Fund.
Fernando Marull, economist at FMyAsociados, pointed out: "Net Reserves -which in December reached almost US$7.7 billion, are now at US$5.1 billion;
very far from the goal of US$7.7 billion."
Therefore, the market awaits other signals to allay concerns about reserves.
"Another option could be to formally request a waiver from the Fund for the March reserve goal due to the extreme drought facing the field and then implement a soybean dollar in the second quarter," they explained in Delphos.
look also
Message to the market and the official internal: Massa's vice promises to keep public accounts at bay
Message to the market and the official internal: Massa's vice promises to keep public accounts at bay
