After the decision to lower taxes on the agricultural sector, a decline in financial dollars was observed. During the week, the Central Bank recorded a reserve loss of about US$ 550 million, prompting the government to seek an increase in currency liquidation from the agricultural sector.
In this context, the official retail dollar, excluding taxes, was set at $1,017.73 for buying and $1,075.78 for selling. At the National Bank, the quotation was $1,029 for buying and $1,069 for selling. Meanwhile, the value of the "card" or "savings" dollar (with a 35% surcharge) approached $1,390, exceeding for the first time since the elimination of the PAIS tax the 20% gap with the MEP dollar.
The Central Bank closed the day with a negative balance of US$ 4 million in the official exchange market, marking its first weekly dollar sale in 2025 with an unfavorable net result of US$ 119 million. Despite an increase of US$ 131 million in international gross reserves on Friday, they decreased by US$ 547 million during the week, part of which was used to contain the gap with financial exchange rates.
Regarding future dollar contracts, a sharp drop was recorded on the last business day of the week, which would lead to an expected monthly adjustment of 1.7% on average, still above the 1% announced by the Central Bank starting in February. A cumulative rise of 10.5% is projected for the first half of the year.
On the other hand, the blue dollar was positioned at $1,240, creating an 18% gap. The MEP dollar was located at $1,157.39, with an 11.85% gap compared to the official rate, while the Liquidation dollar was sold at $1,170.64, establishing an 11.49% spread with the official. The "card" or "tourist" dollar, as well as the savings (or solidarity) dollar, operated at $1,389.70.
Finally, the crypto or Bitcoin dollar was quoted at $1,206.78, while Bitcoin reached US$ 105,266.26.
