Two weeks ago, the market was betting on a drop in the dollar with the arrival of soybean currencies and positioned in pesos with rates of 2.5% effective monthly in Lecap, the capitalization letters issued by the National Treasury. Most of them came out in the last three rounds, since Friday the 14th, to 'turn around', to close those bets and even, as evidenced yesterday, that there will be a devaluation with the arrival of the agreement with the IMF.
As a display of the existing panic in the market, the dollar at the end of the month traded at $1,121, with a 5% increase over the previous closing value in the official market, at $1,069. MatÃas Tamburini from Deutsche Bank commented to El Cronista that 'the market's irrationality is extreme, the IMF board will meet in April, so March will end with a crawling peg of 1% as planned. They expect the market to find its own way'.
The Ministry of Economy remains calm despite the turbulence in the market. At A3 Mercados, dollar buyers on futures and the search for coverage or closing sold positions coincided. The free dollar jumped to $1,285 with a 2.5% increase, while the 'contado con liqui' surpassed the barrier of $1,300, gaining 3.5% to $1,301.
During the day, there was strong buying pressure and exchange tension continued to rise. Lecap suffered declines of up to 2%, with an effective rate now at 3% effective monthly. 'By the end of August, the jump is 17% compared to the closing value', highlighted a source consulted by El Cronista.
The BCRA sold $215 million in the official market, and expectations of a currency jump increased due to the lack of future sales by the Central Bank. The absence of details about the agreement with the IMF in Luis Caputo's interview on A24 increased uncertainty in the market. Versions multiplied, and nominal annual rates reached 43%, raising tension in the financial market.
