BCRA purchases exceeded $14 billion barrier in 2026

The Central Bank (BCRA) purchased $82 million this Friday, August 28, bringing the accumulated acquisitions for 2026 above $14 billion. In a session with $678 million traded in the official market, the monetary authority absorbed nearly 12% of the traded volume and closed the week with purchases of $256 million.

With this result, the net buyer balance for August rose to $722 million, while the year-to-date total reached $14.049 billion. Additionally, the Central Bank has recorded 22 sessions with a positive balance, although the daily average for the month stood at $38 million, still far from the $103 million in July, $68 million in June, and $137 million in May.

Despite the official purchase, gross international reserves fell by $1.069 billion, closing at $49.791 billion. Thus, the stock fell below $50 billion again, after several sessions in which it had managed to stay above that threshold.

Official sources told Ámbito that the decline was mainly due to usual end-of-month movements, which would be reversed next Tuesday. Therefore, the drop was not solely associated with the dynamics of the foreign exchange market or the BCRA's currency purchases, but also to temporary factors that usually impact the gross reserve stock at month-end closures.

The decline was also partly explained by the significant deterioration in valuation. In this regard, gold fell by 3.33% and would have reduced the accounting value of the Central Bank's holdings by about $300 million. Additionally, the global dollar rose by 0.52%, while the euro fell by 0.58%, the pound dropped by 0.37%, the yuan depreciated by 0.10%, and the yen fell by 0.45%.

The report on Foreign Exchange Market Evolution and Exchange Balance published by the BCRA today helped to highlight the contrast between July and August. In July, the monetary authority purchased $2.163 billion in the foreign exchange market, with net sales from clients of $1.166 billion, from financial entities of $783 million, and from the Treasury of $146 million.

Within the non-financial private sector, the main supplier was Oilseeds and Cereals, with net sales of $3.505 billion. In contrast, individuals purchased $4.124 billion, mainly explained by cash, services, current expenses, and remittances without specific purposes. This composition shows why the accumulation of reserves depends not only on export liquidation but also on retail demand and coverage.

The exchange balance also recorded in July a current account surplus of $413 million and a financial account surplus of $2.191 billion. In that month, reserves increased by $2.729 billion, driven by loans guaranteed by multilateral organizations, BCRA purchases, government issuances in the local market, and an increase in foreign currency reserves. However, this advance was partially offset by debt payments of $4.476 billion.

On the exchange front, the wholesale dollar ended unchanged at $1,512 for sale. According to market data, the session had a good trading volume, with active demand at the start for coverage and payments abroad, although later an improvement in supply allowed for a moderation in the advance.

The highs were recorded shortly after the opening, at $1,514, while the lows appeared towards the middle of the session, at $1,511.50. By the close, demand regained some ground, and the price ended in the same range as the previous day.

During the week, the wholesale dollar rose by $13, slightly above the $11.50 of the previous week. The official intervention in futures and financial segments again limited the price movements, although it did not prevent a gradual slide in the exchange rate.

Among the alternative dollars, the MEP rose by 0.10% to $1,537.49, and the cash with settlement advanced by 0.50% to $1,608.95. Meanwhile, the blue dollar remained at $1,555. With these values, the gap between the blue and the wholesale dollar stood at 2.84%, while the exchange climbed to 4.65%.

In futures, the curve operated practically unchanged, with a general variation of 0%. August fell by 0.07%, September decreased by 0.03%, and July 2027 dropped by 0.11%, while the rest of the contracts showed marginal movements. With these prices, the implicit rate for August stood at 1.59% monthly, equivalent to 19.02% annualized, and September was at 1.68%, or 20.12% annualized.

In pesos, however, rates rose again. The TAMAR increased from 25.13% to 25.19%, while the BADLAR climbed from 23.19% to 23.94%. Thus, the market closed the week with a still fragile balance between reserve purchases, dollar management, and the cost of money.