The French metallurgical and mining group Eramet announced yesterday its decision to desist from building a lithium production plant in Argentina. He attributed the measure to the uncertainty caused in the world economy by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The investment bank JPMorgan estimates that the COVID-19 crisis will involve Argentina reaching a fiscal deficit of more than 5% of GDP this year.
Brent closed at $32.84 while WTI reached $25.09, prices rose supported by the expectation of Thursday’s meeting between OPEC members and allied producers, where they will discuss cutting production to shore up the market.
The leading S&P Merval de Bolsas y Mercados Argentinos (BYMA) index rose by 5% to 28,018 units, an increase of 5.7% for the week. Argentine country risk increased 190 units, or 5.2%, to 3,842 basis points.
The BCRA’s International Reserves rose this Wednesday from $84 million to $43.8 billion and accumulated growth of $219 million in the last six days. The implicit exchange rates traded in the stock market area shot up to more than 4.25 pesos, with the CCL (cash on hand) reaching more than 94 pesos, so that the exchange rate gap goes up by 40%.
