ZCZC
BCN-28
ARGENTINA-BANK-AUCTION
Argentina’s Central Bank auctions bills for 2.882 bln USD
BUENOS AIRES, Oct. 4, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – The Central Bank of Argentina
(BCRA) on Wednesday allocated 109.520 billion Argentine pesos (2.882 billion
U.S. dollars) with a rate higher than 70 percent in its third auction of
seven-day liquidity bills (Leliq).
The auction is part of a new monetary blueprint to relax the exchange rate
and contain inflation, the BCRA said.
The monetary authority said that in the seven-day bidding process it was
agreed that the average yield would be 71.26 percent, while for other
allocations the rate would be as much as 74 percent.
Interest rates for the Leliq, which are the highest in the world, rose at
least 7 percentage point as of last Friday when they closed at 65 percent.
The absorption of the peso through the sale of bills resulted in the
exchange rate of U.S. dollars closing 40 cents lower on Wednesday in the
wholesale and retail markets.
Since Monday when the daily Leliq offering with higher rates began, the
U.S. dollar has declined 9 percent.
The monetary blueprint implemented by the BCRA sets a zero monetary growth
base until 2019, adding to an increase in bank reserves and limiting its
intervention in the foreign exchange market.
BSS/XINHUA/HR/1225