The Central Bank bought more than USD 25 billion during the Milei era.

The Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) acquired USD 169 million in the foreign exchange market this Thursday, on a day when USD 551.6 million were traded in the spot segment. So far in March, the monetary authority has accumulated purchases of USD 414 million, consolidating its buying trend for the eighth consecutive month.

With this new absorption of foreign currency, international reserves increased by USD 162 million, reaching a total of USD 28.180 billion.

The strengthening of reserves under Milei's government

Since Javier Milei took office, the BCRA has purchased a total of USD 25.018 billion in the foreign exchange market. Despite foreign currency debt payments, gross reserves grew by 32.9%, with a net increase of USD 6.972 billion since December 7, 2023, when they stood at USD 21.208 billion.

To put this accumulation of foreign currency into perspective, it is enough to point out that the liquidations from the agro-export sector and related industries reached USD 25.091 billion in 2024.

Expectation for an agreement with the IMF and the impact on the market

Investors are keeping their attention on the progress of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which could become one of the year's biggest catalysts.

"The market is waiting to see if the Government also manages to agree with Congress and the magnitude of the potential IMF disbursement, as well as the measures the organization wants Argentina to implement. In that sense, the market's eyes will be on the exchange rate front and what scheme Argentina might adopt to remove current controls," explained Juan Manuel Franco, chief economist at Grupo SBS, to Infobae.

Economist Gustavo Ber, from Estudio Ber, highlighted that investors remain optimistic about the direction of the economy, and that the expectation of a potential agreement with the IMF would strengthen reserves and allow progress in the roadmap to lift the exchange rate cap this year.

Agriculture drives foreign currency inflow: liquidations grew by 45% in February

The agro-export sector continues with a positive dynamic in foreign currency liquidation. The Argentine Oil Industry Chamber (CIARA) and the Cereal Exporters Center (CEC) reported that in February, USD 2.181 billion were liquidated, a figure that represents:

• A 45% increase compared to February 2024.
• A 5.2% increase compared to January 2025.

According to CIARA-CEC, this increase is due to the application of Decree 38/25, which temporarily reduced export duties for the cereal-oilseed sector. However, its impact was only felt in the second half of February, when its regulation was completed.

Analysts at Portfolio Personal Inversiones (PPI) noted that agricultural liquidation will be key for the BCRA to continue its buying streak.

"From local market trends, we have been detecting a rise in soybean prices since the end of January, accentuated since mid-February, which would have encouraged producers to sell the stock accumulated from the previous campaign," they indicated from PPI.

Dollar deposits: punctual drop and accumulation since August

A report from Max Capital indicated that on February 27, dollar deposits fell by USD 121 million. However, since August 15, these deposits have grown by USD 11.574 billion, bringing the total of private sector dollar deposits to USD 30.227 billion.

This increase in foreign currency deposits is a key indicator of market confidence, as the Government advances with its strategy of stabilization and reserve accumulation.