Argentina Markets Close Worst August Since February as Merval Sinks and Country Risk Jumps
ARGENTINA · MARKETS Key Facts —Stocks: The S&P Merval fell 7.8 percent in pesos and 9 percent in dollar terms in August, its worst month since February, dragged down by banks on record loan delinquency. —Risk: JP Morgan’s country-risk index ended August at 512 basis points, up 19.1 percent on the month after touching 535, […] The post Argentina Markets Close Worst August Since February as Merval…
Argentina's financial markets experienced their worst August since February, with the Merval index plummeting 7.8 percent in pesos and 9 percent in dollar terms. The decline was driven by banks grappling with record loan delinquencies. JP Morgan's country-risk index surged 19.1 percent to 512 basis points, marking the highest jump since July amid a global bond rout and early election trade positioning for 2027.
Sovereign dollar bonds suffered across the curve, with AL35D falling 4.6 percent, AE38D 4.8 percent, and AL41D 5.7 percent, resulting in a 3.1 percent overall decline in hard-dollar debt. Meanwhile, the peso remained relatively stable, with the wholesale dollar only rising 1.6 percent to 1,508.50 per US dollar. The central bank purchased a net US$768 million in August, but overall reserves ended the month at US$48.257 billion after a US$1.534 billion technical drop on the month-end.
Notably, only the peso held its ground amidst the turmoil, reflecting the resilience of Argentina's exchange market.
Written by urgent.news from The Rio Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
