COUNTRY RISK COMPRESSED TO 507 BASIS POINTS, ten fewer than in the previous session, on a day when dollar-denominated sovereign debt advanced despite emerging market debt falling 0.2%. The Treasury tendered with a 96% rollover rate and released nearly ARS 0.5 trillion to the market, without over-allotting as in previous tenders, amid a normalization of peso liquidity. The official exchange rate closed stable and the BCRA continued buying reserves, while the MEP and CCL dollars eased slightly. The Merval, meanwhile, closed the session with losses in both pesos and dollars.
THE TREASURY TENDERED TODAY WITH MATURITIES OF ARS 12.67 TRILLION, and received bids for ARS 13.18 trillion, awarding ARS 12.16 trillion, a 96% rollover. Unlike previous tenders, this time there was no over-allotment, releasing nearly ARS 0.5 trillion to the market. The menu remained short and concentrated in fixed rate, with Lecaps accounting for 90% of the amount (S30N6, the new S29E7 and T31Y7), completed with CER-linked (7%) and dollar-linked (3%), with no Tamar or dual bonds. The average term stood at 145 days, above the 111 days of the 08/12 tender due to the inclusion of the T31Y7 maturing in May 2027. Cut-off rates closed in line with the secondary market: the Lecap between 2.19% and 2.26% EMR (29.75% to 30.69% TIREA), the Lecer X29E7 at 6.25% TEA and the dollar-linked D30O6 at 7.64%.
DOLLAR-DENOMINATED BONDS CLIMBED ON THE DAY, with the hard-dollar index adding 0.6%, driven by Bonares, which advanced 0.8% versus 0.4% for Globales. Country risk tracked the improvement and closed at 507 basis points, 10 bps below the previous close, on a day when emerging market debt fell 0.2%. The Bopreal in MEP dollars closed at $110.7, up 0.2%.
PESO CURVES EDGED HIGHER IN USD TERMS AHEAD OF THE TREASURY TENDER, with duals leading with a 0.4% gain, followed by CER and fixed-rate bonds, both up 0.3%, while dollar-linked bonds closed up around 0.2%. Overnight repo and caución rates remained normalized in the 20%-21% NAR range, in line with the liquidity normalization already seen in the previous session, when the BCRA took ARS 2.3 trillion in repos.
THE OFFICIAL EXCHANGE RATE CLOSED AT $1,512.75, down 0.1%, and is up 1.6% so far in August. The MEP dollar eased 0.5% to around $1,538, while the CCL dollar fell 0.2% to near $1,602, leaving a spread of 3.9%. Meanwhile, the BCRA bought USD 93 M on the day, accumulating USD 641 M in August and USD 13,978 M so far this year. Gross reserves rose USD 77 M to close at USD 50,860 M.
THE MERVAL CLOSED DOWN 0.4% IN PESOS AND 0.6% IN CCL DOLLARS, ending at a level of USD 1,877. ADRs averaged a 0.4% decline. Sector leadership was in non-essential consumer and energy, while financials and communications lagged. Among local stocks, Mirgor, YPF and Pampa Energía posted the standout gains, while Banco Supervielle, Transportadora de Gas del Norte and Banco Galicia led the declines. On Wall Street, Globant and Vista Energy led ADR gains, while Grupo Supervielle, Adecoagro and BBVA closed with the steepest losses.
