Argentina bonds fall after finance minister’s departure

• Argentina bonds international slid by more than 2 cents to trade at almost 20 cents on the dollar in the United States, hovering near levels indicating a high probability of default.
• The parallel exchange rate in Argentina expanded by nearly 15% to a record low of 280 pesos per dollar on Monday.
• Last year, the Paris Club offered Argentina more time to repay its debt while it negotiated a separate agreement with the IMF.

Argentina bonds sovereign, which are already trading at deeply distressed levels, fell by as much as 12 percent in early trading on Tuesday, following a weekend of political turmoil sparked by the abrupt exit of the country’s finance minister.

After the unexpected retirement of predecessor Martin Guzmán, who was important in arranging a $44bn debt restructuring deal with the IMF, President Alberto Fernández nominated a relatively unknown former provincial official, Silvina Batakis, to manage the economy.

The country’s international bonds slid by more than 2 cents to trade at almost 20 cents on the dollar in the United States, hovering near levels indicating a high probability of default.

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In her initial remarks as a minister, Batakis had sworn to maintain the government’s economic policies, but neither the financial markets nor the people were satisfied.

On Monday, the parallel exchange rate in Argentina expanded by nearly 15% to a record low of 280 pesos per dollar as people rushed to shift their peso savings into more reliable and stable currencies. As Argentines feared a probable devaluation, numerous stories emerged of bank deposit withdrawals, customers stockpiling products, and rising purchases of electronics.

Guzmán was scheduled to fly to France on Wednesday to renegotiate debts totaling more than $2 billion owed to the Paris Club of creditor nations. Argentina has informed the Paris Club that Batakis will not be there in his stead, and her team will select a new date.