Argentina FX futures jittery as traders place bets ahead of IMF deal

Reuters

Fri, Apr 11, 2025, 7:29 AM 2 min read

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine peso futures person weakened sharply successful caller days arsenic traders spot tentative bets connected a faster depreciation of the embattled currency amid uncertainty implicit the speech complaint authorities up of a woody with the International Monetary Fund.

The April peso aboriginal declaration has weakened to astir 1,180 per dollar from 1,125 connected April 9 erstwhile the IMF announced that it had reached a staff-level statement with Argentina implicit a caller $20 cardinal indebtedness programme to assistance bolster depleted reserves.

That's seen traders playing a guessing crippled connected what that mightiness mean for the currency, which is presently held successful cheque by strict superior controls and a alleged crawling peg, which allows it to depreciate astatine 1% each period currently.

Analysts person predicted immoderate benignant of devaluation, but determination is small consensus. The authorities has moved to regularisation retired a crisp devaluation, but libertarian President Javier Milei has agelong wanted to unravel currency controls, successful spot since 2019.

Traders are divided connected what mightiness hap with speech complaint policy. Some accidental determination volition beryllium devaluation, others regularisation that out, portion immoderate foretell the instauration of a currency set that would successful effect let the peso to weaken wrong a definite limit.

That uncertainty and the expected committee support for the caller indebtedness programme connected Friday person deed peso futures, though prices did fortify somewhat aft a crisp driblet connected Thursday.

"The marketplace remains attentive to the signing of the statement with the IMF and the definitions regarding the speech rate," Argentina-based colony and clearing bureau Cohen said successful a note.

"This context, combined with planetary contagion, is what has led to a emergence successful dollar futures contracts."

(Reporting by Adam Jourdan, Jorge Otaola, Gabriel Burin and Walter Bianchi; editing by Philippa Fletcher)