Wholesale Dollar Ends Week at 1,499 Pesos
On Friday, August 21, 2026, the wholesale dollar rose by 2 pesos to close at 1,499 pesos per US dollar, recovering all of the previous week's decline. The weekly gain was 11.50 pesos (+0.8%).
Exchange Rates at a Glance
| Rate | Value (ARS/USD) | Daily Change |
|---|---|---|
| Wholesale | 1,499 | +2 |
| Retail (Banco Nación) | 1,515 | 0 |
| MEP | 1,530.08 | +5.80 |
| CCL | 1,589.93 | +7.09 |
| Blue | 1,550 | 0 |
The MEP (Mercado Electrónico de Pagos) and CCL (Contado con Liquidación) are legal alternative exchange rates used to access dollars through stock market operations. The blue dollar is the informal, illegal market rate.
Central Bank's Strategy and Interventions
The economic team, led by Minister Luis Caputo and Central Bank President Santiago Bausili, is pursuing three simultaneous goals: prevent an exchange rate acceleration, manage peso interest rates, and continue accumulating reserves. This approach has faced criticism from economists who warn about the high cost of exchange rate stability.
In recent sessions, the BCRA has intervened heavily in the dollar futures market. On Wednesday, operations reached 1.4 million contracts on the Matba Rofex, with open interest rising by 130,000 contracts—an unusually high volume, equivalent to about US$130 million.
As of end-July, the BCRA's short position in futures was only US$485 million, a slight decrease from the previous month. This contrasts with a peak of US$6.8 billion in September. According to Mariano Ortiz Villafañe of Aldazabal y Cía., the BCRA has room to maneuver up to a limit of US$9 billion.
Reserve Accumulation
On Thursday, the BCRA made its largest dollar purchase of the month: US$89 million. August purchases total US$443 million, while the 2026 accumulated balance reaches US$13.770 billion. However, the daily average in August is US$34 million, down from US$103 million in July, US$68 million in June, and US$137 million in May.
Dollar-Linked Bonds: Low Swap Participation
Next week, dollar-linked bonds worth US$3.968 billion mature. The Treasury offered a swap, but only 34% of the volume was accepted, leaving US$2.614 billion to be paid or refinanced. The low participation is partly due to BCRA interventions that kept the dollar low before the rate fixing, reducing bondholders' potential gains.
Economists' Criticisms
Gabriel Caamaño of Outlier consultancy said: 'The rate adjusts accordingly, because you cannot fix both (rate and exchange rate) for long.' Nau Bernues of CFA believes the situation will persist until the BCRA resumes large-scale dollar purchases. While no short-term devaluation is expected, the cost of exchange rate calm is rising.