BCRA buys $70 million as gross reserves fall

The Central Bank of the Argentine Republic bought $70 million in the foreign exchange market on September 29, 2026. This purchase marked its largest single-day absorption since August 28. Even with this intervention, total gross reserves dropped by $494 million to close at $47,482 million, their lowest level since early July.

The decline in reserves reflected around $140 million in debt repayments to international bodies, including the IDB and the Paris Club, as well as end-of-month bank reserve requirement adjustments. Total spot volume in the market reached $846 million, rising 25% from the previous session. The wholesale Argentine peso closed at ARS 1,513 for purchase and ARS 1,522 for sale, dropping ARS 2.50 or 0.16% on the day.

Javier Giordano, an economist at CFA, noted that the central bank absorbed 8.3% of the total traded volume, lifting its cumulative monthly net purchases to $313 million and its annual purchases to $14,408 million. The monthly total remains below the $724 million recorded at the same point in August and the $2,117 million bought by late July.

Analysts at Cohen Aliados Financieros pointed to persistent foreign currency demand even as agricultural sector supply was projected to exceed $3,000 million for the month. The slowing pace of reserve accumulation took place as Argentina's country risk index rose from 485 to 628 basis points over eleven sessions through September 28, amid preparations for sovereign debt maturities requiring an estimated $5,000 million from the central bank in 2027.