Argentine assets began Tuesday's trading session with a marked favorable trend, driven by news that the market had been expecting for weeks:the confirmation of a USD 3 billion repo loan, arranged between the Central Bank and six top-tier international financial institutions. The agreement aims to guarantee the debt maturities of next January 9 and to strengthen the level of international reserves at a key moment for economic policy.
The operation arrived just before the opening of the markets. As soon as the official statement was released, sovereign bonds in dollars showed average gains of 0.3%, while country risk fell sharply, dropping to 548 basis points, the lowest level since July 2018. By 10:30, the indicator had stabilized around 554 points, still at an extraordinarily low level by Argentine standards of recent years.
A repo that reinforces reserves and revalues bonds
The Central Bank explained that the agreement was structured as a passive repo backed by Bonares bonds under local law maturing in 2035 and 2038. The agreed rate was 7.4% annually, considered competitive for a country that just months ago was facing strong exchange rate tensions and country risk above 2,000 points.
For analysts, the repo has a double effect: it clears immediate debt maturities —the main source of short-term uncertainty— and it sends a clear signal to the market about the fiscal and monetary discipline implemented by Javier Milei's government. In that reading, the rebound in bond prices and the improvement in the risk index are directly linked to a stronger perception of the sustainability of the economic program.
