USD-DENOMINATED SOVEREIGN BONDS ENDED LOWER, with an average decline of 0.8%, decoupled from stable emerging market debt. Bonares fell 1.0% and Globales 0.5%. In both legislations, the long end posted the largest losses, between 1.0% and 1.6%, while the short end declined less. The GD29 was the exception, rising 1.7% and moderating the Globales' decline. Country risk rose 19 bps to 552 bps, its highest level since May 5, with five consecutive increases. Bopreal bonds fell 0.1%.
PESO-DENOMINATED DEBT ENDED LOWER IN USD TERMS. CER-linked TAMAR duals fell 0.8% and TAMAR notes fell 0.6%. CER-linked bonds lost 0.5%, with the long end somewhat weaker than the short end. Fixed-rate bonds also declined, with the short end down 0.4% and the long end down 0.5%. Dollar-linked bonds were not spared either, falling 0.3%. Overnight, the one-day repo rate (caución) closed at 20.5% NAR on 9/21, up 0.2 pp, with the repo rate also at 20.5%.
THE OFFICIAL EXCHANGE RATE FELL 0.1% TO $1,513.7, accumulating a 0.3% increase in September. The MEP dollar rose 0.1% to $1,536.4, and the CCL rose 0.4% to $1,596.5, taking the swap spread to 3.9%. Meanwhile, the BCRA bought USD 7 M on the day, accumulating USD 218 M in September and USD 14,325 M so far this year. In September it has bought an average of USD 13.6 M per session, versus USD 38.5 M in August and USD 103 M in July. Gross reserves fell USD 281 M, closing at USD 49,414 M.
THE MERVAL ROSE 0.3% IN PESOS AND 0.2% IN CCL DOLLAR TERMS, closing at USD 1,883.6. The session was led by Communications, followed by Energy and Consumer Staples, while Real Estate, Materials and Construction closed lower. Among local shares, Mirgor stood out with a 5.5% gain, Transportadora de Gas del Norte with 2.4% and Telecom with 1.1%. Meanwhile, IRSA fell 2.5%, Transener 1.0% and Loma Negra 0.9%. ADRs fell 0.5% on average. Central Puerto rose 1.5%, Mercado Libre 0.9% and Supervielle 0.6%, while Bioceres fell 6.7%, Adecoagro 1.4% and Vista Energy 1.3%.
INDEC'S WAGE INDEX SHOWED REGISTERED PRIVATE-SECTOR WAGES OUTPACING INFLATION IN JULY, the most representative gauge of the formal labor market. It rose 2.3% m/m, above June's 1.9%, narrowly beating inflation of 2.1% for a real increase of 0.2%. The improvement was very small and not enough to offset losses from previous months. So far this year, formal private-sector wages still show a real decline of 1.9%. The total index outpaced inflation by a wider margin, rising 2.8% m/m, a real improvement of 0.7% for the month and 2.1% for the year. That gap is explained by the public sector, up 3.0%, and above all by unregistered private-sector workers, up 3.9%.
